Gifts In Return
by Black-Haired Girl
Summary: 1x2; Heero tries to start a new life after the war, but is he able to thrive in a civilian world? Or, will he become a soldier once more? Revised: 06/13/08
1. Chapter 1: Destruct then Recovery

Gifts in Return: Chapter One

"Is he dead?"

"He looks it."

"Yeah, you're 'prolly right. Lets ditch the body."

"Where? Why can't we just leave him here?"

"Dummy, then the commander will want to know why we are here and why we aren't at the meeting!"

"Oh… I suppose you're right."

"Here, help me lift him."

"Woah, he's really heavy for a kid his size."

"Yeah, no kidding! Here, shove him down there."

Heero felt his body being dragged across the brushed steel floor and then the hiss of a hatch being pried open. A heavy boot pressed against his stomach and shoved him back with a rough kick, sending his limp, useless body tumbling down a chute of some sort. The weight of his body left the surface of the metal and for a few seconds he was weightless, air rustling through his hair and against his face before he crashed against a wall of metal with a sickening thud. He could hear a few bones snap upon impact, the sound quickly followed by a surge of extreme pain. He would have flinched but it seemed as if the connection from his brain to his body was severed, and his body disobeyed all commands to open eyes, move legs and arms.

_My body is getting me back for all those years of neglect_, he mused. Then he thought on this and was disgusted at his own morbidity. The weight of his own useless appendages pressed heavily on the floor and his autonomic response of breathing seemed labored, as if there were someone sitting on his chest. He had landed on his back on top of his right arm, which was the source of the cracks. His other arm was draped crookedly across his chest and the sensation of his legs lying in disarray across the hard metal floor slowly crept through the pain to greet his disoriented mind. He reached through the haze of throbbing pain and searched his surroundings with his other senses. He realized he was very cold. The freeze of space seeped through the metal below him.

_No insulation, I must be in a storage unit._

The scent of oil, dust, and the lingering acidic odor of fuel. _A garage. They must have shoved me into one of the transfer chutes that leads to the holding cell for shipments._ His brain immediately sprang forth a photographic image of the blueprint of the small trade satellite he had infiltrated. His previous position was only 50 feet above where he estimated he was at. _If I can commandeer one of the forklifts and can go to sector 12-P before th-_

Then he realized with frustration that he was unable to do anything. It was a stroke of bad luck that had placed him in this situation. He had done research on this mission and all of the soldiers and workers at this satellite station were supposed to be at a monthly "teamwork building" meeting this afternoon. He hadn't factored in the possibility of a random sexual encounter occurring in his path. He knew it was careless on his part. He had gotten too comfortable in his missions and wasn't on his guard. So when he came around the corner both parties were startled and the nature of the act being performed by the two officers had stunned Heero just long enough to stop him from guarding against the blow to his stomach which had sent him tottering forward, and by then it was hopeless for him to prevent the final blow to his head.

_If only the guys could see me now…_

He felt vulnerable, a gnawing feeling that chewed on the inside of his chest and eclipsed all his other thoughts and sensations. _Someone could kill me right now, and I wouldn't be able to do anything._ However, this sort of vulnerability wasn't entirely new to him. He began to reflect on a similar situation Duo had freed him from.

He felt something vibrate from beneath him, the sensation focused in his pocket. His cell phone. It pulsed violently, making a loud buzzing sound against the floor below him. Then it stopped.

_That must be Duo. He is probably wondering where I am. _Somehow that thought was a comfort.

Again, it went off, and his earpiece chimed once, then twice indicating the caller had left him a voicemail.

His mind raced for solutions, but all required the use of his body, which at the moment was definitely out of commission. He was at a loss. Under normal circumstances he would discard that which was of no use to him and continue on his way, improvising. Obviously his mangled, paralyzed body couldn't be discarded and there was no way for him to transcend the situation without it.

_Guess there is one thing to do…_ he decided smugly; _Sleep_.

_**--**_

Heero had not anticipated that during his little nap he would have slipped into unconsciousness. He had finally begun to surface from a deep hibernation and though he still could not open his eyes he could feel his brain booting up gradually, all of his senses flaring to life, searching for data to process.

He was warm now, wrapped tightly in what felt like a fleece blanket against his skin. All of his skin. His flight suit had been removed and he was very aware that his naked body was sunk into a soft mattress. His right arm felt heavy. A cast or a brace had been wrapped around it to set the broken bone. His head was heavy against a soft pillow. An ache came from his groin and he realized a catheter had been inserted there. Various other things were connected to him as well. Stickers clung across his chest from what he assumed were attached to a cardiac monitor and the faint sensation of something stuck to the tip of his left index finger also caught his attention. The scent of rubbing alcohol, rubber, plastic, iodine, linen, and newsprint greeted his nose.

Just as soon as he was aware of its existence the newspaper crinkled loudly as if someone had folded it in their lap. A soft shuffle of a chair being pushed back and then slow, even footsteps sounded from across the room. The footsteps approached Heero, paused, then turned and gradually faded away. There was a soft murmur of voices to Heero's left. The words were indiscernible and the tones sounded as if they were from behind a door. The conversation was short. Suddenly a door had been flung open with a loud smack, and the loud shuffle of heavy, clumsy footsteps approached the bed. The bed lurched to the side as the person slammed into it and suddenly Heero felt a hand grab both sides of his face. Two thin, callused fingers pressed hard against Heero's eyelids before forcing them up, revealing Duo's grinning face hovering dangerously close to Heero's nose.

"Hey look! He is looking at me!" Duo chirped happily. Heero noticed that the Deathscythe pilot's face was unusually pale, and dark circles shadowed his eyes. Heero first reaction was to shove Duo out of his personal space, but his arms just lay motionless at his sides. His aching eyes shifted to the right, looking over Duo's shoulder at Trowa, who was holding a folded newspaper at his side. A small, satisfied smirk perked the corner of the Heavyarms pilot's mouth.

"Did ya see that! He moved his eyes!" Duo exclaimed. Heero's eyes reverted back to the grinning young man in front of him and instinctively attempted to glare at him, but his facial muscles failed to respond and he stared forward dumbly.

"A good sign." Trowa said, inspecting Heero with one visible green eye.

"Hey buddy, you were out for a long while, we were worried about you." Duo said quickly, readjusting his fingers to keep a tight hold on Heero's eyelids. "We pinged your cell phone and traced you to that satellite you were on. Lucky, too, your phone only had on bar of power left." Duo said happily, the smile never leaving his face. Heero 

realized that the look was more of relief than happiness. He studied Duo's face as he spoke, noting how his eyebrows shifted upwards and then gathered at the center of his forehead. He also noticed how straight the other pilot's teeth were. It was difficult not to notice these things due to the close proximity of Duo's face. His eyes began to water for lack of blinking and Duo let go of them abruptly, letting them snap shut. The smell of coffee drifted across his face as Duo let out a soft cursed before prying his eyelids open again, this time being gentler with them.

"Duo found you passed out cold in one of the hanger bays. We brought you here to Astoria-9. Formerly this used to be a refueling and maintenance station for cargo shuttles, and it was scheduled to be dismantled. However, Quatre managed to pull some strings. You will stay here until you are recovered." Trowa stated flatly. Duo nodded in agreement. Heero felt a heavy, unfamiliar emotion in his chest. _Guilt._

The knowledge that Quatre had quite possibly spent a chunk of his family fortune on a run-down piece of space rubble to keep Heero safe made him feel guilty.

_Why would he even bother…_ the thought hit him hard. Duo had begun telling him the tale of how he rescued Heero from the clutches of the evil satellite sanitation workers, but Heero couldn't focus on the other pilot's words. His throat began to get tight and an ache began to run through his chest. Duo, Quatre and Trowa each had come from their individual assignments to take care of him. Quatre had provided him an entire facility to have privately for recovery. Medical supplies weren't cheap either, and from the feel of it Quatre had wasted no expense in making sure Heero was completely supported.

He felt guilty and almost ashamed to have been such a burden on them. He knew, deep down, that he would not have done the same for any of them. He would have cared, he supposed, but if he had work to do he wouldn't have thrown it all aside for an ailing comrade.

That thought alone hurt and his eyes began to water again, this time not because of the lack of blinking. Duo had noticed this and stopped in mid-sentence and stared down at Heero. He looked confused, and then intensely worried.

"I think he is in pain." Duo said flatly, glancing over his shoulder at Trowa who stood unwavering, watching Heero with an analytical stare. Duo's demeanor slipped from cheerful to serious, something Heero knew the other young man to be capable of. The Deathscythe pilot let Heero's eyelids close slowly. Then Duo's weight left the bed and Heero could hear him fumbling for something in a drawer nearby. Plastic was ripped and tossed in the garbage. Duo's uneven gait approached the side of the bed once more and then suddenly Heero felt a burning sensation in his left hand. At first it was intense, making his hand tingle with a curious numbness. Then the feeling slowly crawled up the inside of his arm, settled in his chest, then crept up the side of his neck.

"There ya go, buddy. That will help." He could hear Duo's smooth tenor muttering to him.

"This must be hard on him." Heero heard Trowa say softly to Duo, as if in reassurance. Heero wondered absently if Trowa was a psychic.

Heero could hear the almost faintly audible beep of the heart monitor over his head. It was steady at first, but as the tingle took over his body and numbed him the beep began to slow. He could hear the rustle of his own breath in his chest and became very aware of his own body. A naso-gastric tube ran through his nose, down his throat. A hum of a machine beside the bed corresponded with the gradual dumping of some sort of warm liquid into his stomach. His muscles had relaxed but ached to be moved. A barely noticeable pressure came from what he gathered wan an IV attached to his left hand. He was receiving fluids. He realized that his forehead was hot but his fingers felt cold. His heart beat in sync with the faint beeping of the monitor, occasionally halting for a millisecond before tripping back into rhythm.

Duo and Trowa left the room together. Heero heard them speaking from behind the door, but he couldn't make out their words. However, he knew he was the topic being discussed. The door opened again and he could hear Trowa's even footsteps approach the foot of the bed.

The newspaper opened with a crinkle.

_**--**_

It was difficult to keep track of time in space. Time didn't flow the same way it did on Earth. Depending on your position, the sun could rise over the moon, over Earth, or over a colony. Being asleep for days at a time as well as being in space made Heero feel hopelessly lost. If it weren't for Duo he would never have known how long he had been in bed.

However, there was an established routine. Duo would come in every morning and announce that it was "so-and-so-date, and 8:00 AM. The birds are singing, the sun is shining, and the world is a wonderful place to be!" Everyday without fail. At first Heero was annoyed with this greeting but after a few days he began to look forward to it. Duo would come in every morning to bathe Heero. At first this was intensely humiliating to the WingZero pilot. However, it was a necessity and in his mind he consented to it, only because Duo was his friend.

Or was he? Heero had never really needed friends before now. He always considered Duo a comrade in the battle for their cause, but never did he confide in the Deathscythe pilot anything personal. He had never confided in any of the other pilots, really, but then again what was there to share? They had similar lives and though the words were unspoken, all of the pilots could understand what the other was going through.

Currently Duo was chattering about something he had seen on the news and was rubbing some sort of hair product in Heero's scalp. He would have told Duo not to bother 

if he could, but then he realized how relaxing the message actually was. He could feel his eyes rolling back beneath his closed eyelids. He focused on the gentle pinpricks that flowed from Duo's fingers and traveled down the back of his neck. If he could have, he would have shuddered.

"Heh, that must feel good!" Duo said in his perky voice. "Your heart rate just dropped like 20 beats." The Deathscythe pilot hummed a little diddy to himself, cleaned out Heero's ears, grabbed the Japanese boy's head and tilted it around to stretch out his neglected shoulder muscles and then began to do something with Heero's feet.

Heero had learned a lot about Duo from this experience. Before he had known very little. He knew he was American and from the L4 colony cluster. He knew the stats of Deathscythe, how much vernier fuel his tanks could hold, how the stealth mechanism worked. He also knew that Duo enjoyed eating pizza, drinking Royal Crown Cola and that the other young man could make friends with just about anyone.

Having spent the past two weeks under his care, Heero began to notice other things he had overlooked. For one, he never knew Duo smoked cigarettes. Occasionally when Duo would come in the faint smell of menthol and smoke would be on his clothes.

Duo also liked The Beatles, and would sing their songs when he thought Heero was asleep. Duo was very interested in world politics, had a vast knowledge of mechanics, and knew all of the recent gossip about popular actors and actresses.

He never knew that Duo could speak Japanese, either. This knowledge had actually surprised him the most. Maybe it was the American's carefree demeanor that led Heero to believe that the other pilot was somewhat uneducated. However, one night Duo was assembling something at a desk near his bed. He could hear the American boy getting frustrated with it, crumpling the directions and slamming things down in annoyance. Finally, fed up, Duo dialed a number on his cell phone and spoke to the manufacturer in Japanese. The conversation was along the lines of "I have this part that is missing such-and-such a piece" and "you will replace it or I want my money back".

Of course, the Japanese wasn't perfect, but Heero was very impressed.

He noticed other things about the Deathscythe pilot as too, like that Duo was very nervous when handling Heero. He could feel Duo's hands tremble when he washed him, and could hear the faint quickening of the other pilot's breath when he accidentally dropped Heero's leg or bumped into his casted arm.

No matter how happy Duo sounded, Heero could always tell that it bothered his fellow pilot to see him like this. Sometimes he could hear Trowa and Duo talking in the hallway outside his room. Duo's voice would be somber and monotonous, but when he entered Heero's room his voice would inflect higher and higher, and the American would seem to be the happiest person in the world. Insanely happy. Creepily happy.

The fact that Duo went through such an effort to put up a mask and protect Heero from the severity of his situation touched the Japanese boy. He would never forget all that the other pilots did for him, and if and when he recovered he would make it up to them, especially Duo.

_**--**_

"Duo, maybe you should wake him first?" Heero heard Quatre's voice say with a note of hesitation.

"Nah, he'll be ok." The American said. Heero felt his eyes being taped open as he resumed consciousness. Duo was standing at the side of the bed, grinning excitedly and Quatre was standing at the foot of the bed holding a folder of paperwork. Trowa stood in his customary spot behind Quatre's right shoulder, his one visible eye twinkling with its own understated excitement.

After a silent moment Quatre cleared his throat and gave Heero one of his automatic diplomatic smiles before flipping open the folder he held in his hand. Heero was surprised to see Quatre back so soon. During his stay in his makeshift hospital he had only seen Quatre once, the third day after his arrival. The blond had to take his leave of them for a few weeks due to his work but promised he wouldn't return without a solution to Heero's problem. Heero felt an excited knot beginning to tangle in his stomach. This meant that Quatre had news.

"I corresponded with a few neurologists and specialists my sister happens to be a colleague of and I found out that there is an experimental procedure that is being performed on Earth by a specialist named Martin Watts in Sydney. I have been told it is very effective in reversing damage to the spinal chord. Now, I am not sure if it is one hundred percent effective or that you will be magically cured but it is a start." Quatre said matter-of-factly and then closed the folder and looked down at Heero with a sigh. "The only problem is we will either have to take you to Earth and jeopardize your identity, or bring Martin Watts here. If he is a busy man, he may not consent to travel to space, seeing as it would take up a lot of his-"

Duo shifted uneasily in his spot and began clenching his fists in what Heero perceived to be frustration. "We will have to bring him here." Duo said flatly, rubbing the back of his head suddenly. His amethyst eyes downcast to the floor as if in deep thought before shooting back up to look at Quatre with more determination than Heero had ever seen. "If he won't come, I'll make him!"

"Now Duo… we can't just-"

"No. No no no. If he won't come, I'll make him." Duo reiterated. "Don't you worry about that. I'll take care of it personally." A wicked grin began to creep across his face, and those perfect teeth flashed brilliant white behind his curved lips. Heero began to feel uneasy. Unfortunately he could neither protest nor consent to any of this and just lie there helplessly. His eyes shifted from Duo to Quatre then over the blonde's shoulder at Trowa who gave Heero a small shrug.

Duo was gone for five days, having left a long list of things of things Trowa should remember to do in his care of Heero. The days were long, and Heero felt as if they would never end. Trowa wasn't as talkative as Duo, which left the Japanese pilot sinking deep into his own thoughts. He reflected on his life, what little childhood he had, formed opinions on things he had never had time to reflect on before such as the current political state of the Earth Sphere Alliance and on the relationship Quatre and Trowa seemed to share.

While Duo was gone Quatre stayed on Astoria-9. Heero had nothing better to do so he began to observe how Quatre and Trowa interacted. He never seemed to notice before. Perhaps it was because any other time they were all together there were battles or life-threatening situations that posed a great distraction.

One night Heero relaxed in bed and let his heart rate slow as if he were asleep. He could hear the blond move closer to Trowa at the small desk at the foot of the bed and hear him speak just barely above a whisper. Quatre would speak and Trowa would have a way of making affirmative statements without words. He would make small grunts or go "hum" under his breath, and Quatre would respond with another statement, as if Trowa had inquired for more information. They seemed to be speaking in their own private code. Heero admired their mutual, mysterious understanding of each other.

"I hope Duo doesn't do anything rash." Quatre said softly, worry gracing the high notes of his voice. Heero could hear something shift, like a chair dragging across the floor.

"I've missed you." Trowa's voice sounded soft, and it surprised Heero to hear any emotion from the Heavyarms pilot. It was a pure sound. Quatre let out a loud sigh, as if he had been holding his breath for minutes.

"I missed you too." The blond whispered.

Heero felt guilty for intruding on their personal, intimate moment and within minutes he slipped into sleep, hoping to give them privacy away from his wandering thoughts.

When Duo arrived back on Astoria-9 he had a guest with him. Heero supposed the better way to describe the arrival was that of a triumphant warrior with his prisoner. Duo had a gun pressed between the shoulder blades of the poor Martin Watts and led the frightened man through the corridors and into Heero's room being less than gentle. The man's face was flushed and his eyes were owl-like behind half-moon spectacles. He still had his white lab coat on with a few badges dangling from the lapel. When they entered Quatre jumped to his feet and scolded the gun out of Duo's hand, led the shaken surgeon to sit in a chair and smothered him with pathetic apologies for the American pilot's hasty behavior. Heero found a great amount of humor in the situation. He watched as Quatre gave the man his credentials and reassured him they weren't going to kill him.

"Wh… what do you want from me then?" Martin Watts stammered, his eyes darting from Quatre to Duo before settling on Heero. Understanding flickered across his face. "You took me hostage to save him? You could have just made an appointment."

Duo chuckled and walked over to the bed and gave Heero a little wink. "How are ya doing, pal? Hey! Trowa hasn't been washing your face very well…" The long haired pilot reached down and plucked some sort of chapped skin from Heero's lower lip, his finger lingering for a moment before pulling away to dig in his pocket. Duo smothered Heero's lips with cherry chapstick before turning back to the doctor who was staring in awe at Heero, whose eyes were taped open, staring right back at him.

"Doctor, I assure you, we would have liked to have done this per protocol…"Quatre began, but before he could continue the man jumped up from his chair and pointed a finger at Heero.

"That is a Gundam pilot!" The man exclaimed. "I saw him on the news two days ago! Miss. Relena Peacecraft is searching for him. He is a terrorist!" Then the frightened man stumbled backwards, his eyes searching all corners of the room as if he were about to be shot for saying such a thing aloud. "And because you are harboring him, you are all terrorists too!"

"Heh, I guess we are. Terrorist… I like the sound of that." Duo said with an evil grin on his face. He approached the man slowly but his prowling was interrupted by Trowa's hand firmly placed on his shoulder.

"Sir, if you could please follow me… I believe you are owe an explanation." Quatre said sweetly. The man looked down at the blond and couldn't help but trust in those clear, watery blue eyes. He nodded and followed Quatre out of the room, steering clear of Duo who had tried again to advance on the man. Once they were gone Trowa released the braided pilot's shoulder and shook his head, a rare smile forming on his face.

"Was the evil act necessary?" Trowa asked, crossing his arms over his broad chest. Duo laughed and nodded vigorously.

"Let him think Quatre is the good guy. I want him to fear me, because if he messes up on fixin' Heero I am going to arrange a date with his maker." A cackle erupted from Duo's throat and he flopped lazily on the edge of Heero's bed and looked down at him, spinning his handgun on one finger.

Trowa snorted softly to himself and relaxed against the foot of the bed. "Hopefully Quatre can convince him to help Heero, especially after your executioner performance."

"Of course he will, Quatre can talk anyone into anything if he wants to." Duo stated plainly, holstering the gun at the side of his thigh. Heero hoped Duo was right.

_**--**_

When Heero woke from surgery it felt as if he his back has been cut to ribbons. He was lying on his stomach, his face pressed against a headrest with a hole in the center. He was facing down at the floor, the tiling white with pepper gray spots scattered across the surface. His head ached and his eyes burned. A sharp pain throbbed behind his eyes and his eardrums pulsed violently with heavy thuds. His own heartbeat drummed from within his head and nearly drowned out the surrounding beeps and hums of machinery and monitors. He closed his eyes and then opened them again.

Then he blinked. He could move! Well, his eyelids anyway. His excitement swelled and overtook the pain temporarily and he began to take inventory on his entire body. He twitched his arms, and with great effort could move his toes. He tested opening his mouth and closing it again, finding that the muscles burned even after such small exertion. He was weak, but he could move. Feebly he began to croak out a cough, the jerking movements making pain race up and down his spine and cause his vision to cloud with dark, blotchy spots.

Suddenly those uneven stomps that were so obviously Duo approached him and the American pilot crouched down near the floor and peered curiously up at Heero's face.

"So you live! How do ya feel?" Duo asked with a smile. Heero closed his eyes for a moment, stifled a groan and let loose a long, slow sigh.

"Aweful." He grumbled, his throat raw from disuse. Heero swallowed deftly and felt his eyes watering from the excruciating pain that swarmed over his back. Duo didn't didn't seem to notice.

"You were in there for over 10 hours. Quatre looked like he was about to pass out and I have never seen Trowa so nervous! He couldn't hold still." The braided boy said, grinning up through the little hole in the headrest at Heero's face.

"What is it with you and chapped lips?" Duo chirped, digging into his pocket to retrieve his cherry Chapstick.

"I don't want any of that." Heero growled in protest, peering sideways at the other boy, a scowl forming on his face. His facial muscles were weak, so the scowl lost some of its intensity.

"Fine. Have crusty lips." Duo said softly, rolling his eyes in defeat. Heero snorted, and then suddenly wished he hadn't.

"What did they do to me?" Heero asked in a hoarse voice, holding back what occurred to him may have been a sob from the back of his throat. He had been through many things in his short life, but this was by far one of the most painful things he had ever experienced.

"Well… here, lemme show you." Duo scampered away, only to come back under the table with a handful of pictures, grids and charts. He held one up in particular. It was a sketch of a torso, and what Heero thought to be a spine. From a spot just below the neck was a drawing of some sort of object with tubes or wires, which were scribbled all over the spine itself.

"The Doc. installed a transfer device while allows your spine to communicate as it once had, and maybe even better than it had before. I don't know all the details, but here is the paperwork if you want to read it." Duo said excitedly, beginning to spread the charts and graphs out on the floor under Heero's face.

"Maybe later." Heero mumbled. Something had begun to burn his thigh and then that familiar tingle and numbness began to travel across his body. The pain began to subside beneath this new sensation and he let out a soft sigh of relief, closed his eyes, and slept.

_**--**_

Recovery taken a month and Heero stayed on Astoria-9 with Duo and Trowa. Quatre had left to continue his work but before he had departed Heero pulled the blond aside and thanked him for what he had done. Somehow the Japanese pilot felt that words were just not enough to relay just how grateful he was to Quatre. The Sandrock pilot had paid for everything, and even paid off Martin Watts to keep him quiet about the ordeal. 

Not only had Heero been a financial burden on him, but he had also wasted a lot of the blond's time he could have been using for other much more important matters.

Quatre must have seen the anguish beneath Heero's cold exterior and before he left he had taken Heero's hands within his own, nodded, gave him a gentle smile and told him not to worry about it.

But the Japanese boy couldn't help but worry about it.

This was very unlike him to be so engrossed in a wide array of emotions, let alone feeling guilt. He had done many things before that should have induced such a feeling, but he had never experienced it until now. Perhaps it was because he had been such a problem for his comrades, other Gundam pilots, who he respected far more than any enemy soldier or random victim who got in his way. He could relate to them, and therefore their opinions and thoughts on him mattered.

The very last night on Astoria-9 he was sitting across at a table playing poker with Duo and Trowa. He watched as Duo twirled the tip of his braid between his fingers in thought, while Trowa stared placidly at Heero waiting for him to take his turn. Heero looked down into his hand of cards, found nothing appealing and then placed the hand face up on the table.

"I just wanted to thank you for helping me." He forced himself to say, the sound of his voice sounding foreign and distant. Trowa didn't react and Duo looked over his poker hand in surprise. There was a long, awkward moment of silence before Trowa spoke.

"You would have done the same."

Heero forced a small smile and looked down at his cards.

"Yeah." He lied.


	2. Chapter 2: A New Mission

**Chapter Two**

Time passed quickly and wartime was soon nothing but a distant memory to those who had endured it. Heero was 18. He never learned when his real birth date was so he marked his years by the first of January. This would be his 18th year of life, and he felt no wiser, stronger or intelligent than when he was at 15.

After the war and outbreaks of violence had settled down the Gundam pilots had all agreed to destroy their Gundams for the sake of peace and join the Preventers. Heero, having resolved not to join any sort of agency, military or non, decided to live the next few years of his life in the country.

He returned to Japan, the center of his ethnic heritage, and bought with his government pension a small house and a little square of property on Hokkaido, far away from the bustle of the major cities. His new home was hidden away from reporters, researchers and historians. Here he began to enjoy the small village life.

It was June. The weather for the past week had been warm, with the occasional refreshingly cool breeze. All of the children in the village were out and about, enjoying the freedom of living in a safe, quiet environment. With a deep sigh he crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back into a park bench, and looked out over the pond where a group of young children were playing at the water's edge, splashing each other and skipping stones across the flat, glimmering surface.

"Hiirou!" One of the young boys yelled from down the bank. "Come! Look at this!"

Heero smiled walked down the bank to where the children were standing in a semi-circle looking down at something that was lying on the ground. As he approached he realized that it was a baby duckling. It flailed nervously and tripped over its own clumsy webbed feet, getting tangled in the long, stringy grass.

"Poor ducky!" exclaimed one of the little girls.

"Catch it!" said another little girl holding a bent stick in her hand.

"No! It will bite you!" said the young boy who had summoned him over.

Heero approached slowly and knelt beside the duckling, which chirped and squeaked in fright. He heard a soft honking call from the pond and saw that the mother duck was spinning in nervous circles in the water, calling out for her baby.

"Quiet…" Heero said softly, and the children fell silent in unison. He reached down slowly and strand by strand began to untangle the frightened yellow baby duck. Then he nudged the duckling with the back of his hand and urged it toward the water. It stumbled forward warily and then waddled triumphantly to the water with a splash. The children cheered as the little duck swam eagerly over to its mother.

"You saved him! You saved him!" one of the little girls chanted, dangling from Heero's arm.

"It was just a duck." Heero said flatly, and then ruffled the hair of the little boy who stared up at him in admiration. The boy's gaze began to make him feel uneasy.

"Kirin! Kirin, time to come home."

Heero looked over his shoulder to see Yuki standing at the top of the hill beside the bench where he had just been sitting. The little boy nodded, waved goodbye to Heero, then turned and scampered up the hill towards his mother.

"Oh, Heero. How very nice to see you." Yuki said in her charming, soft voice. She took Kirin's hand and approached Heero, a smile brightening her face. The sun reflected off of her pale skin, making her seem to glow in the late afternoon light. She was wearing a pale pink top with a conservative khaki skirt, and her long black hair was pinned up neatly in a bun. She never wore jewelry or makeup and the simplicity of her appearance made her seem innocent and pure. She was a few years older than Heero. She was also widow, her husband having been killed in the war, and so she was often alone with her young son. Ever since meeting her the first week he had moved in he felt very protective of her. He found himself taking the long way home from town to pass by her little house. He would bring the mail to her, and he kept a sharp eye on Kirin when he was out playing with the other children.

"Mommy! Mommy! Heero saved a baby duck today!" Kirin said happily, tugging on his mother's hand.

"Oh did he?" Yuki replied slowly. "Our hero!"

Heero felt his cheeks begin to burn with embarrassment and he looked down at his feet, pushing a pebble around with the toe of his shoe. Yuki's light, airy laugh floated through the air and made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

"Heero, I have been looking for you. Could you help me with some yard work tomorrow?" Yuki asked softly. Kirin's eyes lit up with delight. Heero gave a slow nod before raising his eyes to meet hers.

"Yes. Of course."

"I will make you dinner as payment." She said, placing a hand on Kirin's shoulder as if to calm him.

"There is no need-"

"I insist." She said cheerfully, and then gave him a small bow. "I'll see you at noon. Oh and thank you."

Heero nodded and watched after her as she walked away, little Kirin glancing back every few steps to grin at him.

Once they were out of sight Heero let loose the breath he had been holding through that entire conversation. He rolled his shoulders and began walking up the small, wooded path to his little traditional Japanese-style house. He slid the screen aside and traded his shoes for his house slippers and began wandering aimlessly around the house.

"I'm a mess." He said to himself, brushing his wild chocolate bangs from his eyes. Yuki always made him have an uneasy feeling. It wasn't necessarily a bad feeling, just an uncomfortable sensation that he wasn't used to experiencing. He never had a girlfriend. He never even had time before to start a relationship with anyone. However, Yuki's presence made him think about those things. Made him ponder what it would be like to have a woman living with him, what it would be like to share emotions with someone of the opposite sex and to make love to them.

His pulse quickened at the thought. He shook his head and paced up and down a dim hallway, trying to will the thoughts away. It was difficult. He had needs, true, but he felt guilty for ever thinking that he could use Yuki to fulfill them. She was innocent, sweet, and beautiful. She deserved more. She deserved to have a husband. Her old husband. She deserved to live a peaceful, happy life.

Many times Heero wondered what it would be like to be with Yuki, but he always shrugged these thoughts away. She was too innocent, and he was jaded, cold, and had a sordid past.

_I will help her. I will just keep my distance,_ he decided.

He made a pot of green tea and ran a steamy bath, slipped into the tub and closed his eyes. Yes, life _was_ good.

Until the knock at the door.

Heero cursed under his breath and splashed up out of the tub, quickly wrapped his robe around himself and padded across the wood floor to retrieve his handgun from a small cabinet on the wall. He tucked the gun within the robe and went to the front door, sliding the screen open slowly. A figure stood in the darkness on the front step. He deftly flicked the light switch on the wall and a lantern-style light flickered on. The yellow light poured over the figure…

"Wufei?" Heero said, stunned, his eyes widening in surprise. The Chinese boy stood before him dressed in a Preventer uniform. His dark eyes were tired and his shoulders slumped from exhaustion. "… come in."

The Shenlong pilot walked in slowly. He had come empty-handed. Heero gestured to his small tea table in the center of the room and Wufei wasted no time taking a seat there.

"Heero, something serious has happened." Wufei said plainly. His dark eyes locked onto Heero's. Something that Wufei always did was to stare into your soul while he spoke. Heero took a seat across from the Chinese pilot and nodded, urging him to continue.

"Duo got himself into some serious trouble. We need your help."

"What kind of trouble?" Heero's stomach began to unsettle. He hadn't spoken to the Deathscythe pilot for at least a year, and this news bothered him greatly. After the war they had become close friends, but Duo couldn't settle in one place and the last news Heero heard was that the American had taken some time off from the Preventers to use his government pension to travel across Europe, or go to Disney World… or something like that.

"Duo trouble," Wufei said, almost bitterly, and then closed his eyes as if in meditation. Heero studied the Chinese pilot's face. The first thing he noticed was that Wufei had aged gracefully. His cheekbones were more pronounced and the former full, roundness of his face was lost in maturity. His eyes were intense, and only the tip of his chin was shadowed with stubble. His eyes reopened and locked with Heero's again.

"He is a hostage to the Russian Rebel Movement. It is a long story… basically I got word from Quatre that he received an unusual e-mail from Duo asking him for the schematics of the Gundams for 'sentimental value'. Quatre, as you know, had data about the Gundams recorded and locked up safe before the suits were destroyed. He had a few of his men trace the e-mail and it turns out it was sent from Russia. After flat out saying 'no' in response he received a video from the rebels, having Duo tied up, threatening to kill him if Quatre didn't hand over the data." Wufei rubbed his eyes with the palms of his 

hands and cleared his throat. "All Preventers are all involved, working night and day to try and locate where they are holding him, but we haven't been able to pinpoint an exact position. They keep moving before we can finally catch them. Trowa is currently with a recon group in Russia and Quatre has constructed a team of IT and hacking gurus to try and trace their whereabouts over the net."

Heero let the information process before looking down at his hands. "How long have they had him?"

"Three months." Wufei said slowly, studying Heero's face. "We would have told you sooner but it was difficult to locate you. And you don't have any phone number or e-mail anymore so…"

Heero nodded. He had made sure nobody could get a hold of him. It had added to his isolation.

"What do you want me to do?" The Japanese boy said, his voice sounding harsh. Wufei sighed and gazed at Heero with half-lidded eyes.

"Anything you can." He swayed in his spot and blinked furiously, obviously fighting his exhaustion. Heero frowned and stood up.

"Come, you need sleep." Heero urged, walking over to the tired Chinese pilot.

Wufei opened his mouth to protest but then thought better of it. Heero urged him to a stand and then let him to his room.

"I cannot sleep in your bed," Wufei said weakly, but at Heero's glare didn't give any more resistance and flopped down onto the mattress and slipped into a exhaustion-induced coma.

Heero shut off the light and walked out onto his small front porch and looked up at the sky. Space seemed much brighter from Earth; a deep, glowing blue. This dark blue canvas was littered with specks of silver light that shrunk and expanded like a faint, unsteady pulse. He could see the faint outline of the L1 colony cluster just overhead, mingling lazily amongst the stars and satellites. He took a deep breath of the cool night air. The scent of jasmine filled his nose. He closed his eyes.

A vision of Duo strapped to a table with a crazy, grizzle-beard Russian hovering over him with a smoldering fire poker flashed across the inside of his eyelids. His eyes snapped open.

The thought startled him. He turned and looked down the narrow, beaten path through the woods that led to town, as if waiting for someone to come out from the darkness. _I owe him._

A strange sensation rushed through his fingertips and he took a deep breath, focusing on the intense feeling. A throbbing became apparent from the back of his neck, racing up and down his spine like a bolt of lightning. His scar, from the surgery that had recovered him, had sometimes ached. However, now it seemed to be trying to communicate to him. He recalled all the time Duo had spent helping him. The American pilot had cared for him night and day, dedicating immeasurable time and energy into Heero's recovery.

He was his friend.

Heero sighed and placed a hand on the frame surrounding the sliding screen. His fingers slid deftly across the smooth, dark wood. His new life would have to wait. Yuki would have to wait.

A breeze rustled his robe and tousled his damp hair. He could feel the cool, smooth metal of the gun neatly hidden against his side. He reached into the flap of his dark blue robe and pulled forth the gun, holding it up to inspect it with a steady hand. It felt comfortable against his palm, his finger resting at home on the trigger.

_I promised myself I would never have to use this again_.

The fact was he had not shot a gun or done anything even mildly violent since his dealings with Mariemaia Kushrenada. He had kept that promise to never hurt anyone again, but now a fellow comrade was in need.

_What am I going to do?_ The scar on his back throbbed once more. He looked down at the gun, its smooth dark gray finish dull in the moonlight. He pointed the barrel up at the colony that floated unknowingly above, and pulled the trigger with a resounding click. Nothing happened.

… _mission accepted._

His eyes narrowed and with one smooth, fluid motion he snapped back the slide and looked down into the empty chamber. He then released it with a snap. A bullet clicked in place.

"I'm coming, Duo."


	3. Chapter 3: Heero and Wufei

Chapter Three: Heero and Wufei

_"Heero, you there?" Duo's silky voice asked from the intercom of Heero's headset. With a start Heero sat up in his chair and blinked furiously down at the control panel in front of him. The screen before him blinked wildly with red error messages._

_"Heero? Heero…?" Duo began to call his name in a panic. Heero adjusted the headset over his ears and began clearing the many error messages from the screen._

_"What?" He asked flatly. He could hear the braided pilot's sigh of relief._

_"Oh there ya are! Fall asleep again?" Duo chided. "I was trying to get you to turn the after burn off on the third engine so I can take a look at it."_

_It took a few seconds for Heero to register that information. He tapped a few keys and did as requested. The third engine powered down slowly, making the ship decrease speed as it lingered slowly past a reception satellite that was hovering near Earth's possessive atmosphere._

_"Done," Heero replied plainly, rubbing the back of his sore neck with the flat of his hand. "Duo, what is the damage to the starboard hull?"_

_There was no reply._

_"Duo? Duo, can you read me?"_

_Still no reply. Suddenly a metallic screech sounded through the speaker, along with heavy distortion of what sounded like a struggle. Then a few gunshots. _

_Heero lept up from his seat and ran out of the control deck and down a narrow corridor. He took a right through a sliding door that led to another corridor almost identical to the previous one. He ran down that corridor as fast as he could, and took the next right through a sliding door that led to a corridor almost identical to the previous one…_

_He balled his fists in anger._

_Am I lost?! He thought angrily, running frantically through the sliding door on the right, which led to a corridor almost identical to the previous one-_

_"DAMN IT!" He screamed and stood still. The room began to spin around him._

_Then he heard a loud, guttural cry-_

_"DUO!"_

Heero bolted up from his seat and nearly knocked his head against the overhead luggage compartment. His deep blue eyes scanned his surroundings frantically, and he took in large gulps of air trying to catch his breath.

The sight of frightened passengers staring at him brought him back to reality. He was on a plane. A plane to Russia.

"Sit," ordered a stern voice to his left. He turned to see Wufei sitting neatly beside the window. The Chinese pilot was glowering at him, an indiscernible expression masking his face. Hesitantly Heero reclaimed his seat beside Wufei, his gaze locking straight ahead to glare holes in the back of a bald passenger's head.

"Do you need something to drink?" Wufei asked casually, thumbing through the pages of a book he had settled in his lap. Heero looked over at the Altron pilot and released a long, drawn-out sigh.

"Just tell me the plan again. I need something to focus on." The Japanese pilot replied.

"We are to arrive within the hour in Moscow. Trowa is going to meet us at the airport and take us '_home_'." Wufei made sure to emphasize the last word. He would say no more so as to keep the secrecy of the plan. Heero nodded in acknowledgement. A flight attendant began making her way up the aisle.

"Would you care for a drink?" She cooed softly, giving Heero a cordial smile.

"Bourbon," Heero said quickly. "On the rocks."

The woman nodded and sashayed down the aisle to retrieve his request.

"A bourbon man?" Wufei said cheerfully. "I would have never guessed."

"Neither would I." Heero answered, "I have never had it before…"

Wufei let out a barking laugh and shook his head. "You'll be in for a big surprise."

The flight attendant returned with his drink and set it on a small tray that folded down from the seat in front of him. He lifted the glass to his lips and took a long, experimental sip. He swished the contents around in his mouth before swallowing and then settled the glass back on the tray.

"Not bad." Heero stated. He gave Wufei a crooked smile. The Chinese boy chuckled softly under his breath and looked down at his book. Just as he did the plane hit some turbulence. The glass slid across the tray and with a bump began to fall to the floor.

In a split second Heero had snatched the glass from the air and replaced it back on the tray without spilling a drop. Then he casually started buckling his safety belt. He looked over at Wufei, who stared back at him with dark eyes as wide as saucers and his mouth hanging ajar.

"How did you do that?" Wufei asked, stunned.

"Do… what?" Heero perked an eyebrow at his companion, a slight smirk forming on the corner of his mouth.

"That thing with the glass. You moved so quick-" Wufei shook his head and rubbed the spot between his eyes with his thumb. "Wait… I forget sometimes you aren't human."

Heero found this thought entertaining. He laughed a little and then began to slide the glass around the surface of the tray. "You're right. I'm not. Well, parts of me are not." He said cryptically as he smiled eerily at Wufei.

"Oh, do explain." The Chinese boy said, obviously amused.

"Well," Heero said, settling back against the headrest of his chair. "After that spinal surgery I had a few years back I have been able to do things that I couldn't do before. Not super things, just enhancements of my previous abilities. I have noticed that my reflexes are much quicker. I can also process thoughts faster. My memory has gotten more accurate, too. I can also move faster, as far as running and such. But not super-human fast. Just faster."

Wufei gave a nod and placed a finger to his lower lip as he pondered this information. "So do these dreams you are having have any correlation to the surgery?"

Heero was surprised the other young man would have asked him such a personal question. However, he wasn't offended. He nodded slowly and sighed.

"Somewhat. I had dreams before, but not ones quiet as intense as I do now…"

"Ah." Wufei responded, and then distracted himself with the view outside the window. There was nothing to see but thick, misty gray fog. They sat in awkward silence for while before the Chinese pilot responded again. "I regret not being there for your surgery."

Heero sat up a little but stared straight ahead, his eyes narrowing in thought. "I don't. You are a soldier, Wufei. You were doing what was right. You were on a mission."

Wufei nodded and then studied the fog outside even harder. "I sometimes wish I wasn't so much of a soldier." He clenched the armrests tightly with his hands and absently chewed on the right corner of his lower lip. "I do not regret all that I did for the colonies, but I do regret not being more of a team player during those years."

This was an unusual conversation for the two pilots. They would talk often, but about political things, or duty, or honor, or even justice- but to speak about regret was taboo for them. Wufei shifted uncomfortably and Heero dropped his gaze to his shoes.

"Don't worry about it, Wufei. We all did things we may wish we could change, but it is over and done. We are a team now." Heero stated, relaxing again into his chair.

"It is interesting. We changed the world once, but now we must change ourselves to fit this new world of ours… and that is the hardest mission of all." Wufei said sagely, relaxing a little as well.

Heero took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He agreed.


	4. Chapter 4: Prepared for the Mission

Chapter Four: Prepared for the Mission

The rest of the flight went without incident. They arrived in Moscow a little after midnight. The runway was dark and could only be spotted by the two, long parallel lines of squinting blue and green lights that flanked both sides.

Heero and Wufei stepped off of the plane and stretched their stiff muscles. They bypassed the luggage pick-up station. Both young men had only a carry-on sized duffle bag with their few belongings. Heero shouldered his bag and sauntered down a long set of stairs to the airport's exit with Wufei following close behind. They stopped just outside the entrance and waited.

"He should be here any time now." Wufei said quietly, glancing down at his watch. Heero nodded in affirmation and looked down the crowded sidewalk. People were shuffling into taxicabs, arguing over bus seats and greeting relatives and loved ones.

They didn't have to wait long.

A dark car pulled up in front of them and rolled down its tinted passenger side window. Trowa leaned over from the driver's seat and flashed Heero one of his rare, personable smiles.

"Need a ride?" The Heavyarms pilot teased. At first Heero didn't recognize his comrade. Trowa's bangs were slicked back, revealing his entire face which was long and nicely boned. His neck seemed a little thicker, as if he had gained muscle, and his chin bore a fine, well groomed goatee. He had a pale scar that ran up the side of his neck and ended just below an almond-shaped, emerald green eye.

"Hn." Heero responded in his usual way, then walked up to the car and entered the passenger seat. Wufei slipped quickly into the back. They pulled away from the airport at a steady pace and then joined the heavily congested freeway.

"Here is the current data I have available." Trowa said, pulling a folder from it hiding spot between his seat and the center console. "The location we will be infiltrating, some background on the Russian Rebel Movement and their organization, and other pertinent findings."

Heero leafed through the stack of papers, his eyes scanning each page for valuable knowledge he could use. The location was a private office building about 50 miles from where they were now.

_Tenth floor, average of 15 men at any time in the building, heavily armed._

Some of the enemies had military backgrounds, which would make them formidable opponents. He studied the floor plan, estimating time it would take him to run in and out from different points on the map as well as calculating his own plan A, B, and C if he were to need it.

"What do we have as far as supplies?" Heero asked, searching the pile of paperwork for an inventory.

"I scrounged up what I could. It was difficult, considering the Preventers have actually been doing a good job of preventing weapons manufacturing." Trowa said as he pulled the car off of the freeway to a less crowded side street. "But I did manage to find things I thought you would like."

Heero nodded and restacked the paperwork he was given and settled it in a neat pile on his lap before looking out the window at the dark, empty city streets that slid by them. The people hovered in dimly lit alleyways and on doorsteps of rundown buildings like restless, shadowy spirits.

Trowa finally pulled into a small neighborhood of old, colorless townhouses just block or two from the main street. He led them inside and flicked on the light which was nothing more than a single bulb that hung bare in the center of a small living area. The room was empty except for a worn, wooden table and four chairs. The wooden floor had large, oblong gashes in it and walls were a pale, gray color. The air within was stale and stuffy.

_I've stayed in worst places…_ Heero thought, studying his surroundings.

Trowa led them through the main room to a small, narrow set of wooden stairs that creaked and moaned loudly when they ascended them. On the right was a square room with the same dreary wooden floor and sickly walls. However, this room had three cots against the far wall and card table in the center covered with paperwork, graphs and photographs of buildings and planes and people Heero couldn't identify. He set his bag on the nearest cot and pulled out a laptop and set it on the end of his cot.

"Nice." Trowa said, gesturing to Heero's new toy. The Japanese pilot smirked and gave a small nod.

"I destroyed my old one, and I knew I couldn't work without one so I had to pick this up before we left." Heero stated matter-of-factly. Wufei huffed.

"Yeah, he acts like it was no big deal. He made the poor tech-assistant build it from scratch according to his specifications. I have never seen such a big deal made over a stupid computer." The Chinese boy was rummaging around in his bag looking for something with an annoyed scowl on his face.

Trowa smirked at them then let his face slide into his usual, flat expression. He knelt down in one of the corners of the room and pulled forth a knife from the ankle of his boot and began prying up a few of the floorboards. Heero approached him and looked down into the deep hole Trowa had revealed. Within was a plethora of weapons ranging from grenades to hand guns, to a high powered rifle. Wire, detonation devices, knives and other miscellaneous items were also amongst the pile of weaponry.

Heero reached in and grabbed a dark, black SIG Model 210 and expertly slid back the slide, seeing a bullet in the chamber. He released the slide slowly and tucked the handgun in the hem of his jeans and began digging eagerly through the collection of arms Trowa had acquired.

Wufei watched from his spot on his cot, a sleek eyebrow raised in interest at what Heero was doing.

"Why did you show him that?" Wufei said in exasperation. "Now I won't be able to sleep without hearing him polishing his gun and muttering insane thoughts all night…"

Trowa's laugh abruptly cut off whatever retort Heero would have said reflexively.

They spent the next half an hour discussing their strategy and plan for the next two days. They would scout the building tomorrow morning and Trowa would enter in disguise and place a few bugs and cameras here and there. He would also make sure that Duo was alive before they went and raided the place. The following day they would infiltrate the building, free Duo, and hopefully capture a few of the criminals to put them on trial. They discussed the possibility of deaths, and agreed to keep three of the main bosses of the rebel group alive for prosecution. The rest were disposable if they got in the way.

Wufei went to sleep early so Trowa and Heero relocated downstairs to discuss alternative plans.

"How did they catch him?" Heero asked after their planning was over. Trowa leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms across his chest, which Heero had noticed was much more muscled than it had been before.

"Duo was on L2 colony. He had gone there to study his roots, I suppose. Quatre told me he was looking for some childhood friend named 'Solo' or something to that affect." Trowa said coolly, his gaze wandering across the table, searching for a point to fix on. "The rebel group happened to be there at the time. They found out some information he was telling someone person he was a Gundam pilot."

Heero's eyes widened and he stared at Trowa for a long moment, processing this. "Why would he do that?"

"I am not sure." Trowa remarked, rubbing the short, neat hair at the tip of his chin. "Maybe it was someone he loved?"

That wasn't the answer Heero was expecting.

_He must have been with Hilde… _he decided. He began organizing the paperwork on the table absently. The thought had made him somewhat uncomfortable. Trowa noticed Heero's fidgeting and continued.

"They heard him say he was a pilot, did the appropriate research to verify that knowledge and felt that they could use him to get the information on the Gundams. Their goal is to free Russia from the Earth Sphere's governing rule. They feel that peace and negotiations and diplomacy cannot achieve this for them, so they are adamant on weapons and building their own resistance. They will use the information about the Gundams to build their own super weapons, which of course would devastate the Earth Sphere and all who are members of it, because nobody could contend with them in their weaponless state." Trowa frowned and looked at Heero, his eyes growing intense. "The Preventers wouldn't be able to stop them either. They have very little as far as weapons, and they have a limited amount of force to call upon."

Heero nodded in understanding and stood, the whole of that information weighing heavily on his mind. "I am going to sleep now. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Heero could hear Trowa say as he ascended the creaky stairs to the bedroom. He entered quietly. Wufei was sound asleep on his cot breathing slow and heavy. Heero sat on the edge of his own cot and put his head in his hands.

_I don't want to kill anyone…_ he thought forlornly. He could feel his quick, throbbing heartbeat at his temples. He stared down at his feet in the dark. His mind raced with visions of the next few days. He would have to shoot to kill. He knew there was no other way.

Then he narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw tight. _They deserve to die…_ the thought repeated over and over in his mind. _This is my mission. They took Duo, beat him, and want to start more war. I must stop them, even if it means I have to kill them. I must stop them before they kill others. One death for a thousand…_

He pushed himself up to a sit and pulled the loaded gun from the small of his back and lie down on the cot, resting the gun beside himself. He stared up at the cracking ceiling for a long while, listening to his own heart beating restlessly in his chest.

_I made a promise, once._

_I won't hold back._

He closed his eyes and began to recall his little house in Japan, the pond, and the children playing nearby. He remembered the smell of Jasmine just outside his front step and the cool breeze brushing across his skin. He could see Yuki and Kirin, standing on the beaten path through the woods just outside his house. Kirin waved at him and Yuki gave him one of her brilliant, warm smiles. Then they turned and began walking deeper into the dark woods, fading out of sight. As they vanished another figure approached from deep within the woods to take the place where Yuki and Kirin had just stood.

It was Duo. His long hair was braided neatly and he was dressed in a t-shirt and ripped jeans. He had a gun in his hand. He smiled at Heero, but the expression didn't seem natural or sincere. Then he lifted the gun and pointed it at Heero.

"You're a fool." The Duo in his dream said, hate lingering in his voice.

Then he pulled the trigger.


	5. Chapter 5: The Rescue

Chapter Five: The Rescue

The building where Duo was being kept was 50 miles south of Moscow, located in the industrial district. Every business in that part of town was surrounded with six foot fences topped with razor wire. It was a foreboding place. The ground was littered with the gutted shells of abandoned cars, garbage, and the occasional dead cat or wild animal. There was no color. Everything seemed to have a thick layer of gray dust upon it, as if this small corner of the world had been abandoned by civilization.

Heero was standing a block away, hidden between two crumbling walls of abandoned building. He was waiting for 7AM. He absently glanced down at his watch.

_6:45. Could time move any slower?_

He snorted down at the watch in annoyance then peered carefully around the corner to look down the narrow street at the office building. It was surrounded by a tall fence, topped with two tangled loops of silver razor wire. The building itself was 20 floors high and was the tallest structure in the district. Each floor had 7 windows. Some of which had been boarded up, while others (mainly on the first three floors) had bars welded across them. A tattered Russian flag was pinned up over the main entrance, however the face of the flag had something painted in black. It looked like a fist clutching a lightning bolt. But then again… it also looked like a baby wearing a turban. He looked down at his watch again.

_6:48. Hmn…where are the guards?_

He narrowed his eyes to squint against the morning sun, which rose hesitantly over the line of condemned buildings and smokestacks on the horizon. Only one guard could be seen standing out front. The man was short and stocky of about thirty with an unkempt black beard. He had a cigarette in his mouth and was holding some sort of semi-automatic rifle. Heero scanned what little of the area he could see. No other guards seemed to be there. The day before Trowa had done extensive reconnaissance on the building and had told Heero that there were two to three men outside at any given time. Heero wanted to get a closer look. A gutter lined the powdery brick of the wall to his right. He grabbed it and with ease hefted himself up ten feet before peeking around the corner again to look at the front entrance of the building. He saw the bearded man from before, standing right at the door. Then another man walked out from inside, hailed the bearded character, then walked lazily up to the main fence and shouldered his own rifle. The man was sipping something out of a cup.

"There you are…" Heero muttered to himself. He found no one else to be in the vicinity. After he was satisfied with his scouting he released the gutter and hopped down to the ground and checked his watch.

_6:55. Almost time._

An old, familiar sensation tingled his fingers. His adrenaline was beginning to flow, just as it did in his missions before. It began at his fingertips then ran up his arms. His breathing quickened at first, then slowed and steadied. His pulse pounded heavily as his blood began to rush through his veins and his senses would peak and sharpen. He shifted his weight a few times from one foot to the other, feeling restless. His hands couldn't stop twitching, so he occupied them with doing a final check of his equipment.

_6:59._

The Japanese boy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He envisioned himself running through the steps of his mission, entering the room that Duo was supposedly kept hostage in, and stopping in the doorway. He saw the American boy's body face down in a pool of blood, while five maniacal looking Russians stood waiting with guns drawn-

Suddenly a loud, echoing boom sounded through the air. The ground shuddered and a few pebbles fell from the crumbling brick beside him. Heero's eyes shot open and he slid around the corner and ran full tilt towards the building.

The tall building was covered with a thick cloud of smoke. Wufei had succeeded in pulling off his distraction. The two guards who had been standing at the front were looking around frantically, their rifles drawn. Suddenly the stocky man with the beard stiffened and fell to his knees. Trowa appeared from behind him as if by magic, holding a high caliber hand gun with a silencer on the end of the barrel. The man at the front gate had turned to see his comrade fall to the ground at Trowa's hand. The second guard lifted his rifle and took aim at Trowa, who stood completely still and emotionless, staring down the barrel of the guard's gun.

Heero was quick. He closed the distance between his hiding spot and the target with ease. He had approached just as the second guard had turned around. He hit the man in the back of the head. The guard crumbled into a heap on the dusty ground, knocked out cold.

Trowa raised an eyebrow at this but didn't say a word. Quickly Heero tied the man's hands and heaved him to the side and kicked his unconscious body under a rusty truck that was parked just outside of the gate.

_I won't kill unless I have to… _The Japanese pilot thought to himself. He reached around to the small of his back and pulled forth the SIG he had chosen a few nights before. His pockets were heavy with spare clips brimming with ammo. He slid up to the front door and opened it slowly, the barrel of his gun leading him inside. The door led to a wide, empty foyer. Just as they had entered so too did three armed thugs, all in uniforms of dark red and black camouflage.

"The two on the left." Heero said quickly. Then he sprinted up to the two he had pointed out. The thugs fired a few rounds at him as he ran. The bullets whizzed past the Japanese boy's face, but the shots didn't faze him. He was upon them connecting blows to their bodies before they could react. The messy-haired boy smashed his fist into one of the thug's face, spun on his heel to plant his foot in the opposite man's stomach before returning to his previous target to bestow a knee to his enemy's groin. The first thug fell to the floor with a loud grunt. The second raised his gun in desperation at Heero and emptied his clip without aiming, attempting to scare the Japanese boy off.

It didn't work.

Heero glared at the shooter and with a deft, quick manipulation of his hand against the man's gun he disarmed the brute. Then he knocked the man on the head with the handle of his own gun. His target fell to the ground, unmoving, blood gathering on the ground beside his head.

The Japanese pilot stared at the blood on the ground. However, before he could focus on what he had just done he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned around and spotted Trowa kneeling beside the guard he had taken.

The Heavyarms pilot was tying the unconscious man up with his own belt. Then he stood up, dusted off his hands and approached Heero while drawing his gun from his pocket.

"I hope he doesn't get loose." Trowa said flatly, looking down at Heero. The Japanese pilot noticed the corner of the Heavyarms pilot's mouth perking a little in a secret smile.

"Lets go save that American idiot." Heero said. Trowa nodded and they turned to run down the nearest corridor.

They made their way up to the tenth floor with ease. The two pilots encountered a few guards at post but all were easily disarmed and put out of commission. The tenth floor was unusually quiet. The door they were headed for was at the end of a short, dimly lit hallway. They approached it in silence.

Heero leaned against the door and listened. He could hear murmuring from the other side, along with a low, humming noise. Even with his heightened ability to hear he could still not decipher the various sounds. Trowa raised his gun and tilted his head a little with his eyes shifting towards the door, as if to silently ask if the Japanese pilot wanted him to go in first. Heero shook his head.

"DAMN IT! NO!"

The silence was broken by Duo's voice from the opposite side of the door. Heero felt panic swell up in his throat. The image of Duo's lifeless on the body surrounded by a pool of blood flashed across his vision and without thinking he acted. With a heave he kicked the door in and scanned the room with his gun.

Then he froze.

He wasn't expecting what he saw next.

Duo was seated on a ratty, torn couch in front of a large, flat-panel television. Beside him sat one of the main rebels, as Heero recalled from a photograph Trowa had shown him the night before. Alex Steinbach, the second-in-command of the rebel group. They were holding Wii-motes. On the screen was some sort of fighting game with big, colorful geometric characters.

Duo's eyes were wide in surprise but then brightened with delight. "Heero!" The American boy jumped up from the couch and dropped the Wii-mote on the floor as he approached him. "What are you doing here? Hey, Trowa!" Duo chirped.

The Japanese pilot glanced at Trowa whose usual flat expression reflected the same dumbfounded confusion he was feeling. Heero was speechless. His eyes shifted from Duo to the man on the couch. Steinbach looked different from his picture. The photograph Heero had seen portrayed a young man with a full blond beard, wearing a battle-worn Russian army uniform. The Steinbach sitting on the couch was clean shaven, wore a white oxford with gray slacks, had a short stylish haircut and was remarkably handsome.

Then Steinbach stood and in one quick motion had his gun drawn, pointed at Heero. Heero responded by pointing his own gun at the blond and grit his teeth.

A wide array of emotions swam through his head. Confusion, relief, and anger; all swirling wildly in his mind, attempting to block out any logical thought.

"You know them?" Steinbach asked in a heavily accented voice. Duo took a step back and then put his hands up.

"Hey now, put your guns away!" The braided boy commanded a hint of anger apparent in his voice. "Yeah I know them, they are my friends!"

Heero scowled, however he did not lower his weapon from the rebel. "Duo, what is this? I thought you were kidnapped."

Duo took a few steps closer to Heero and began rubbing the back of his own head. The braided boy gave him a sheepish grin and nodded. "Well yeah, I was…urr… I mean, I still am."

"I don't understand." Heero said slowly, his eyes scanning the room. The room seemed more like a bachelor pad than a jail cell. Empty pizza boxes and soda cans littered a table against the wall and beside the television were the Wii and a few miscellaneous game consoles. Magazines and pages of newspaper were draped across on of the arms of the couch.

"Well…they kidnapped me about three months ago. They wanted information about the Gundams…but I am sure you know all this." Duo said, taking another step closer to the Japanese pilot. Heero shot Duo a look of distrust and stepped back away from him.

"Then what the hell are you doing!?" The Wing pilot yelled at the top of his lungs. His anger and frustration began to build within him. It caused an uncomfortable tightening sensation in his chest. "I come to save you and you are playing games!"

"Heero… man, calm down, it isn't what you think-"

"Calm down? Later. You're coming with me…" Then suddenly with a quick lunge Heero rushed up to Duo and grabbed him by the back of his neck. He effortlessly spun the American pilot around and wrapped an arm around his neck and held the gun to his head.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Duo screamed at him, wriggling in his grasp.

"Kidnapping you." Heero hissed, tightening his arm around the American's neck. "Since you like it so much."

"Release him!" Steinbach commanded, his thickly accented voice resonating through the air. Heero watched as the Russian aimed his gun at Trowa. "Release him or I shoot!"

Trowa stood motionlessly in the rebel's sights, his own gun aimed at the floor, held loosely in his hand. Then he glanced over at Heero. A long moment passed. Heero noticed Trowa's trigger finger twitch, and then that secret smile perked the corner of the Heavyarms pilot's lip.

The Japanese pilot understood.

It happened in a blink of an eye. Heero twisted the barrel of the gun away from Duo's temple to fire a bullet at Steinbach, intentionally missing the man's head by centimeters. After he fired his gun he returned it to Duo's head and spun around with the other pilot in a headlock, dragging him out into the corridor. Steinbach responded to Heero's shot by showering the retreating Japanese boy with bullets. Trowa hit the ground, rolled to the right, leapt up with cat-like grace and fired a single shot.

From the hallway Heero could hear Trowa's shot, which was soon followed by a dull, quiet thud.

"NO! HEERO! LET ME GO!" Duo yelled, kicking and screaming within Heero's hold. The Japanese boy tightened his grip on the American pilot. Trowa walked out of the room slowly.

"You killed him! YOU KILLED HIM!" Duo screamed, scratching at Heero's wrist. "Trowa! Why!? You didn't have to kill him!"

Trowa avoided looking at Duo. "Let's go." Then the sleek young man walked on ahead of them towards the stairwell.

"Fuck you! Fuck you heartless bastards! You murderers! Let me fucking go!" The American began wailing, his voice taking on an unusual tone. Pain. He struggled and fought as he was dragged down the stairs but by the time they exited the building Duo was limp with grief and despair.

A dark car skidded to a stop at the opening of the gate. Wufei's face appeared in the passenger side window.

"Hurry up and get in! The cops are on their way!"

Trowa quickly got in the front passenger seat and Heero dragged Duo's now limp body into the back. Then they sped off, leaving a giant cloud of gray dust in their wake.


	6. Chapter 6: Convincing Duo

Chapter Six: Convincing Duo

"I just can't do it, Heero."

Quatre sat on the edge of a pale blue, paisley-print couch and settled his teacup on its fine china saucer on the ornately carved coffee table in front of him. The blond boy was unsettled. His cheeks were paler than usual and his large, crystalline blue eyes reflected concern and regret. "This is the only way."

Heero shifted uncomfortably in the plush, velvet armchair he was sitting in. He was more confused than he had ever been in his life and the question at hand was giving him a splitting headache.

"He won't like this idea." Heero said coldly, looking from Quatre to Trowa, who was standing casually behind Quatre's couch with his hands in his pockets. The blond Arab nodded and let loose an exasperated sigh.

"You're right, but there is no other way. I have work to do. I can't watch him, nor can I be the companion he needs right now. Trowa, well…" Quatre fell quiet. It was easy to see the young man was torn. Before Quatre could gather his thoughts Trowa spoke up for him.

"I would really like some alone time with Quatre for a month or two. We haven't been together in quite some time." Trowa's steady voice explained. Quatre dropped his gaze to the floor. A soft, rosy blush began to surface on his pale cheeks.

"Well yes. Then there is that." Quatre looked up at Heero and gave him a gentle smile. "I think it would be good for him to have a home, at least for a while. Trowa and I can't give that to him, and Wufei is working full-time with the Preventers to prosecute the men arrested in Duo's kidnapping."

Heero frowned. "It isn't that I don't want to, Quatre. It is just that I don't think he will agree to it. We aren't… on the best of terms right now."

Quatre nodded and sighed again. "He is just confused. Maybe you two need to sit down and discuss your feelings?"

Heero couldn't help but laugh. The sudden outburst startled Quatre and inspired Trowa to lift a dark eyebrow at him.

_If only it were that easy…_ Heero thought.

The Japanese pilot stood up suddenly and tried to give the worried blond a reassuring smirk. "I'll try to work it out. Have a good trip you two." Then he turned to retreat from the gaudy parlor to the hallway. He closed the door quickly behind himself and once alone released the breath he had been holding for the past half an hour.

_Why does this have to be so complicated?_ Heero thought to himself. He turned to walk down the hallway and made his way past fancy oil paintings and the occasional large, potted fern to a balcony that looked out over Quatre's estate.

The main courtyard wrapped around a large, towering fountain that sprayed bright, blue water up into the desert air. A long driveway snaked around the fountain as well, lined with giant, lush palm trees. The mansion itself was sand-colored, with many multi-faceted windows. The entire property was enclosed by a pale white and brown stone wall. Beyond the gate Heero could see the endless mounds of bright sand that shifted like waves as they were swept along by the hot, dry wind.

The Japanese pilot leaned against the railing and took a deep breath before closing his eyes. The hot wind blew against his face and shifted his hair against his forehead. The real world seemed to melt around him. Soon he was at his house in Japan, standing on the front step. His memory of the night air at home was that it was cool, unlike the hot, uncomfortable breeze of the desert. In his mind's eye he could see Yuki standing at the tree line with a shy smile on her face. The woods behind her were alive with the humming sound of cicadae and birds. Home was green and blue. Shadows could be found everywhere, hiding secrets and hidden stories. He yearned to be home, and to be at peace again in his remote village where the biggest of his worries was going to the grocery store, or repairing a punctured shoji screen.

He opened his deep blue eyes and squinted against the reality that was the afternoon sun of the desert. He had another mission to complete before going home.

He had to convince Duo to go with him.

So he wasted no time. He picked his way through the maze of hallways and staircases until he found the room Duo was staying in. For a long moment the Japanese pilot stood outside of the door, running thoughts furiously through his mind.

_What do I say? Should I apologize? What for… I didn't do anything wrong._

_I'm terrible at this._

He frowned deeply and raised a fist to pound loudly on the door. An instant later the door swung open and Duo's face appeared. The expression on the American boy's face was relief at first, but the emotion vanished as soon as it had came and now nothing but contempt could be read in those big, amethyst eyes.

"What do you want?" Duo hissed, his eyes narrowing into a formidable glare. Heero's first reaction was to turn and walk away, but he resisted the urge to retreat and tried to steady his voice.

"Can I talk to you?"

"'Bout what? I have nothing to say to you." The braided boy growled, his fine little jaw tightening. Heero noticed immediately that Duo's entire body was building tension like a spring.

"Can I come in?"

Duo thought on this for a moment and Heero was convinced that the other boy was going to say 'no', but to his surprise Duo stepped aside to let him through. Heero strode in slowly, trying his best to exude complete confidence and nonchalance. He wasn't sure if he was being convincing.

"So, what is it?" Duo demanded, as he crossed his arms across his chest. Heero settled his eyes on the other boy. The American was wearing long, khaki cargo pants and a red t-shirt with some Arabic scrawled across the chest. It occurred to him that the clothes must have been on loan from Quatre, because it seemed more the blonde's style than Duo's.

"I know you are mad at me- and you have good reason. Can't we talk about it?" The words sounded strange coming from him. Heero became aware that his face must have taken on some sort of weird expression as he said it because Duo's eyes lightened in amusement, despite his angry posture.

"Quatre put you up to this, didn't he?" Duo reasoned, then blurted. "So what do you want to talk about, huh? What is there to say?"

Heero frowned. He was becoming frustrated. He was also getting tired of skirting the topic, so he decided resolutely that he should just get to the point and be blunt before he made more of an idiot out of himself.

"You are going to come live with me." Heero spat out. Then he grimaced, as if waiting for Duo's complete and violent objection. To his surprise there was no immediate argument just a long moment of silence. Heero looked up at Duo to see the American boy staring at him in shock.

"You… want me to stay with you?" Duo asked hesitantly, dropping his arms from his chest to dangle at his sides. Heero knew he was letting his guard down.

"Yes." Heero said confidently. Then he noticed that Duo's eyes seemed surprised, happy and sad all at once though Heero wasn't sure how that was particularly possible. The look in Duo's eyes made Heero feel strange. A foreign feeling began to build in his chest. Sympathy. "Besides, I owe you."

The braided pilot's jaw relaxed and Heero thought he saw his body tremble slightly. "I don't need your help." Duo replied.

Heero sighed and clenched his teeth. He was no good at this. He stepped closer to Duo and locked eyes with him. "Look. I don't want to fight you on this. You don't have anywhere else to go. I am offering for you to stay with me for a while. I live modestly. You might not like it, but it can be your home. Besides, I would enjoy your company." The Japanese boy gave a sigh of relief and deep down was satisfied with his own words.

Duo had an unreadable expression on his face. "I accept. Just know I still don't forgive you for what you did."

Heero's relief was squashed. "What did I do?" He spoke through gritted teeth. "I was worried about you. Everyone was worried about you. Wufei went three days without sleeping to track me so we could save you- and you are angry with us?" The Japanese boy ran his hand through his messy chocolate bangs in attempt to push them away from his face. "Everyone stopped living their lives to look for you. Quatre dedicated massive resources into finding you, Trowa risked his life, and Wufei worked his ass off and all you can do is mope and be ungrateful!"

Duo's defensive stance began to return. The braided boy's arms began to wrap protectively cross his chest and his wide eyes narrowed in anger. "You just don't understand!" He barked.

Heero felt the nagging urge to just leave the room but something inside him didn't want to stop. Deep down he wanted answers and until this moment he had neglected to ponder too much on the strange events of Duo's rescue. Now that they were on the topic the Japanese boy couldn't reign in his curiosity.

"Duo, what was between you and Alex Steinbach?" Heero blurted abruptly. Then Heero immediately regretted asking. Duo's face began to tense again and the braided boy's anger was clearly readable.

"Excuse me?" Duo asked, calmly. His arms dropped from their protective fold over his chest to his sides, hands balling into fists. Heero immediately realized Duo was shifting into his offensive stance. "How DARE you accuse me of anything! You can't possibly understand what it was like!" Duo yelled, his body shaking with rage. "I was taken at gunpoint and held captive for _three months_! I don't know about you, but after the last few times I was held hostage I figured I didn't particularly like having my face beat in!"

Duo suddenly rushed forward up into Heero's face, his nose less than an inch from the wide-eyed Japanese boy's. "So what if I made friends with them? After spending three months with them I got to know them. They weren't bad people, Heero! They were just fighting for a cause. I guess you don't remember, but you and I were marked 'terrorists' once. So I made friends with them! I didn't fucking JOIN them! They had FEELINGS! They were PEOPLE! Just because they didn't agree with those moronic Pacifists doesn't mean they were evil."

Duo's eyes began to reflect the light, and Heero thought he saw tears forming in them but before he could positively identify them the American had blinked them away. "They didn't treat me bad. They were doing what they thought was right. They were nice guys. I made friends with them." Then Duo's eyes shifted from sadness to some inner understanding as if he had finally had an epiphany. "I appreciate you saving me. I do. I guess I am just a little confused."

Heero felt sorry for making Duo so upset. He stared at him for a moment, dumbly, not certain what to say or do. He had never seen Duo near tears before, and he knew that he had witnessed Duo in a moment of weakness.

But then again, Duo had seen Heero at his most vulnerable and had helped him. The situations mirrored each other perfectly. The Japanese boy placed a steady hand on Duo's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. It was something that Odin used to do in his childhood when he was frightened or nervous, and it had always helped him. He hoped it would do the same for Duo.

Heero could feel Duo's shoulder relax beneath his firm grip. Then the braided boy gave a nod and let his head hang in defeat. The Japanese boy knew the tension was over and that, miraculously, the situation had been solved.

They stood in silence for a long moment before Heero's hand dropped back to his side. "You will like Japan." The dark haired boy said quietly, inspecting Duo's downcast face to gauge his reaction.

Suddenly the American boy smiled and looked up at Heero with an excited expression.

"Pocky?" Duo asked, his usual energetic inflection returning to his voice. Heero felt a smile creep across his own face.

"All you can eat."


	7. Chapter 7: Getting Accustomed

Chapter Seven: Getting Accustomed

"No cable? No internet? You do have running water at least?" Duo began stalking around the small Japanese-style house while he scanned his new surroundings with a critical eye. "Cavemen have more amenities!"

Heero leaned against the smooth, dark support beams by the front entrance and watched Duo survey his new home. The braided pilot moved about hesitantly as he searched every corner of the house like a nervous cat studying his new territory. Finally the other boy came back to the front door and gave Heero a sheepish grin.

"Guess I'll have to make my own fun…"

"I told you it was modest."

"You call this MODEST?" Duo exclaimed with a playful huff before elongating his body into a bone-cracking stretch. "More like prehistoric."

The Japanese pilot rolled his eyes and let out a small sigh.

_Americans… they are never satisfied, _he mused.

"There is a pond at the bottom of the hill." Heero said. He stepped out of the doorway and down the front step to the ground. "And if you follow the road West about a mile or so you will find the village. You can go and buy whatever you need. Tell them to put it on my tab." Then the dark-haired pilot turned to talk down the path.

"Hey! Wait a sec!" Duo yelped from behind him. He ran out of the house and down the path to meet him. "Where are ya going?"

Heero paused and looked over his shoulder to study Duo with a dark, thoughtful gaze. "I have some business to take care of." He noticed that the American looked a little nervous, so he added quickly in Japanese, "don't worry, I'm sure you can tell them what you need."

Duo nodded then froze in place before giving Heero a perplexed stare. His secret was out. This made the Japanese pilot laugh. His smooth, deep voice floated across the cool breeze as he vanished within the shadows of the full, green trees.

Heero decided to take the long way to Yuki's house. Half of him did so to prolong the time until he would have to face her, while the other half wanted to just enjoy being home. He sauntered down the wooded path to the pond and then paused for a moment or two to watch a man haul in a lively, wriggling fish from the water. Its scales glimmered silver in the noonday sun as it fought aggressively on the line. The main hollered in surprise at the catch before scooping the sleek, silver crescent up in a net. Past the pond he ascended up the small, grassy hill. A few children were playing tag on it. They stumbled across the lush, bright grass laughing and cheering happily. A few of them paused in their game to wave at him as he passed.

He felt a warmth swelling in his chest. Never before had he ever considered any one place his home. Deep down he felt a strong sense of pride in his new community. It was a new feeling for him and he hoped that Duo would be able to appreciate his new home as much as he did.

Yuki's house was just on the opposite side of the hill. As he descended the hill he could see her small cottage crouched within a circle of bushes and colorful flowers. He saw some movement amongst the garden. A straw hat popped up out of a hedge and a pale, blushing face turned to watch him approach.

His stomach began to flip around anxiously and his heart began to throb wildly in his chest. She lifted a gloved hand and wiped her forehead with the back of her forearm before dusting off her pale blue gloves. With quick even motions she plucked the gardening gloves from her pale, thin fingers and set them in a bucket nearby before slowly meeting him at the entrance of the small, white fence that surrounded her property.

"Good afternoon." She said softly in Japanese. Heero gave her a bow in greeting and replied equally as politely. She smiled a little, though her dark eyes reflected confusion about him. He couldn't blame her. One minute he was promising to help her, then the next he was gone, and for a goodly amount of time.

"I came to apologize…" He began but before he could continue she shook her head and tilted her pointed chin up to look at him from beneath her large, straw hat.

"No apologies." She said quietly, and then reached out a delicate hand to grasp Heero's fingers. "I do not believe in them."

Heero felt his body begin to tense up. He looked down at her pale hand holding his own dark, worn fingers and he sucked in a deep, nervous breath. This was new to him, too.

_Don't hold back… _he thought desperately to himself. She was watching his face expectantly. He wasn't sure what to do.

"I… well, it is just that…" Heero could feel a heat begin to spread up his neck and across his cheeks. "Yuki, would you-"

Suddenly a loud scream ripped through the air from the other side of the hill. Yuki jumped, startled. Her eyes widened in horror.

"Kirin!" She exclaimed, then turned away from Heero and began running up the hill. With a quick reflex Heero had spun around, passed her and made it to the top of the hill with ease. His eyes searched around frantically for the young boy. Then he saw him. He sighed in relief.

Yuki appeared beside him, panting. Her body was shaking in fear. "Where is he? KIRIN?" She yelled loudly. Her usual soft, calm voice was hinted with a mother's terror.

"Over here!" Came the small, high-pitched cry from the edge of the pond. There were a few splashes and then the sound of mixed laughter from the water.

Kirin was standing on the water's edge in his bathing suit. He was looking up the hill at them with a carefree smile. Suddenly the water behind the boy bubbled and shifted. A figure began to rise from it with arms outstretched towards the small boy.

"KIRIN!" Yuki screamed. The sound of her scream sent chills up Heero's spine. He reflexively reached down and went to pull up his left pant leg to retrieve a small handgun he had hidden at his ankle when he heard a familiar voice.

"I'M GONNA GETCHA!"

Heero froze. He looked down at the sopping wet figure looming over Kirin.

"Duo?"

Kirin turned and with a thrilled laugh ran up to the wet American and playfully shoved him. Duo flopped over on his backside with a loud splash and began laughing as well. Heero sighed in relief then looked over at Yuki, who couldn't have possibly gotten any paler even if she had tried.

"You… know him?" Yuki asked hesitantly. She had begun kneading the edge of her gardening apron. Heero nodded.

"He's harmless." He said slowly as he watched the little boy begin to climb onto Duo's back. The braided pilot was on his hands and knees in the shallow water coughing and laughing as the little boy began tugging on his long, wet braid.

"I defeated the swamp monster!" Kirin yelled happily. He waved triumphantly at his mother. Yuki forced a smile.

"Time to go home…" Yuki said in a shaken voice as she approached the water's edge. Heero followed close behind.

"But Mama…" Kirin protested. The little boy was perched on Duo's back while the American pilot swam around in circles face-down like a crocodile in the shallow water. Then with a gasp Duo's face surfaced. Heero was half expecting to see Duo holding a fish in his teeth. Instead, the American smiled at their shoes before peering up against the sunshine to grin at them.

"Hey, Heero! Come on in, the water's fine." Duo chirped happily. His long, chestnut bangs were plastered against his forehead and shining beads of water dripped off of the tip of his perfect nose. Heero felt a smile pull the corner of his mouth.

"Time to go home." Heero said to Duo before glancing over at Yuki. "If you would still like some help I can come by tomorrow morning."

The color was beginning to return to Yuki's face. A pale, pink glow was creeping across her cheeks. She nodded at Heero and gave him a small, hesitant smile. "Yes, thank you." She said quietly, then without another word she grabbed Kirin's hand and began leading him up the hill towards their house.

"Bye Duo!" Kirin said. He turned around to wave at them as he was being dragged along by his mother. Duo returned the wave with a big grin and then hauled himself out of the lake and began wringing out his braid. Heero crossed his arms and watched Yuki and her son disappear over the hill. Then he glanced sideways at the sopping wet pilot beside him.

Duo was toeing off his shoes. His jeans were soaked and clung tightly to his body. The American's black t-shirt was plastered to his chest and Heero could see the faint pucker of the other pilot's hardened nipples through the wet fabric.

"Nice kid." Duo said cheerfully as he leaned down to scoop up his wet shoes. Heero sighed and turned to walk slowly towards the path that led home. Duo jogged up beside him and matched his step, leaving little puddles on the ground in his wake. "She was pretty hot too. Kinda stuck up, though."

Heero didn't respond. He looked down at his feet as he walked. Duo made a small "tsk-tsk" noise behind his teeth and began swinging his arms back and forth as he walked.

"That your girlfriend?"

Heero knew the question was coming, but he wasn't sure how to respond. Yuki wasn't entirely HIS, and he wasn't sure where their relationship stood. He was hoping to get some sort of clarity on the situation before his attempt was thwarted by the American pilot. He shrugged his shoulders and let his eyes scan the woods around him, looking for anyone who might be eaves dropping before responding.

"Not exactly." Heero replied quietly. He could feel Duo's gaze on him. An awkward silence passed between them as they walked down the wooded path. The only noise came from the birds overhead and the crunching sound of their feet against the dry leaves that littered the ground. Heero wondered why Duo wasn't saying anything. Usually the American pilot filled every moment of silence with some sort of noise, whether it be humming, whistling or jabbering nonsense. However, to Heero's surprise, Duo was silent. Maybe the braided boy realized there was nothing left to be said. They walked side-by-side through the cool shadows towards the house. When they arrived there were no words exchanged. Heero immediately drew a bath for Duo and, in silent understanding the American pilot entered the bathing room and closed the screen mutely behind him.

Heero heard the sound of Duo's waterlogged clothes hit the floor and then the shifting of water at the other pilot entered the tub. The shoji screens were thin and every breath Duo took rang out loud and clear through the house. Heero began heating up a pan and started to boil some water to make rice.

After a while Duo finished bathing and with those familiar, uneven footsteps began to pad around the bathroom. He fumbled with a few things, spat, then shoved the screen aside and entered the kitchen loudly.

_How does he manage to sneak and stealth so well with such heavy feet?_ Heero wondered thoughtfully as he stirred the sizzling contents in the pan. The smell of chicken and vegetables hovered over the stove in a savory cloud.

"I am starved!" Duo exclaimed. Heero heard Duo stomp over to the table and slump lazily down onto a cushion. "Gimme some grub."

Heero lifted the pan from the stove and turned to approach the table with it when he stopped and stared in surprise at the American pilot. Duo was sitting expectantly at the low table in nothing but loose, dark blue shorts. His chest was bare. Heero noted the slight flexion of finely formed pectoral muscles as Duo leaned back and forth excitedly awaiting his meal. The American had a towel wrapped around his hair. It was folded neatly like a turban on top of his head, giving him the appearance hunger-stricken swami.

"Well! What are you lookin' at! Feed me!" Duo wailed. He began tapping the side of his rice bowl with a pair of chopsticks. Heero quickly responded by pouring some food into the bowl. The American began munching greedily at its contents.

Heero took his own seat and began to eat slowly and methodically, watching with curiosity as Duo downed his meal. He supposed that his surprise was merely from not having ever seen Duo without his clothes on. As they ate he stole glances at the American pilot, who was so entranced by his meal that he didn't seem to notice. Duo was slightly tanned. He was bulkier than Heero was in the arms and chest. The Japanese pilot was surprised that Duo was so stocky, but then he remembered that the other pilot's preference to wear black had a lot to do with the deception. Black tended to make everything look thinner. In Duo's case it made him look more child-like and underdeveloped, but now fully disrobed Heero could plainly see that Duo had aged just as the rest of them had. He had fine lines across his stomach, which now was folded inward as he leaned greedily over his food. Heero noted a series of faint white scars were scattered across Duo's ribcage and left shoulder.

He began to wonder about the sources of those scars when Duo looked up from his bowl and grinned.

"Not bad! You're quite the chef!" Duo complimented. Then one of those muscled arms reached across the table to hungrily scoop more rice into his bowl.

"Arigato…" Heero muttered absently. His eyes followed the angular lines of Duo's arms to his shoulders, then up his neck to his face. He studied the American's face while he ate, finally able to see them in their entirety now that his hair was pulled up in the turban. Duo's face was angular as well, but unlike Wufei and Trowa's it had a slight curve at the cheek. Heero thought it was perhaps like Quatre's. No… not quite. Despite Duo's appealing and almost beautiful features he wasn't feminine in the least. His entire being dripped with masculinity. The way he sat, how he stuffed his face, and the peculiar expressions that crossed the American's face were completely male in origin.

Heero had spent a significant amount of time with Duo during the war. However, he was always focused on his mission, or working on his Gundam, or anything else that could be a formidable distraction. He wondered how he could have overlooked these things about Duo in the past.

Finally satisfied Duo sat upright and chugged down a cup of now lukewarm green tea. After doing so his nose crinkled and he stuck out his tongue.

"Blech. Tea…" The American made a noise and then looked up expectantly at Heero. "Got any desert?"

Heero chuckled before he could stop himself.

"No." He finally replied, then began to gather the now empty plates. He could hear a little groan of disappointment from Duo's side of the table. "But as payment for your meal you can wash dishes."

Duo scoffed and hopped up to his feet with feline grace, and then in a split second slid up beside Heero at the sink. "Fine-fine. Sheesh." Then he began splashing around in the water. "Where is the sponge…"

Ten minutes later the dishes were clean and put away, but not before drenching the front of Heero's shirt and covering the floor in front of the sink with bubbles.

_How did he manage to pilot a Gundam? The boy can't even wash a dish_… Heero wondered. He fished a mop from the corner of the kitchen and mopped up the puddle.

"So what are we doing tomorrow?" Duo asked curiously. Heero finished with the mop, wrung it out, and then replaced it in the corner before looking over at Duo. The American boy had found the hidden cabinet in the wall where Heero stored his guns and was toying with a .40 caliber handgun. The Japanese boy strode up quickly and snatched the gun from Duo's hand before putting it back in the hidden spot. He gave Duo a warning glare.

"I am going to go help Yuki with some yard work." Heero said coldly. He closed the cabinet door and then placed himself between the American pilot and the concealed weapons. "YOU are going to town to get yourself a bed."

Duo's eyebrows gathered in the center of his forehead. "Huh? Why can't I come?"

Heero sighed and crossed his arms neatly across his chest. "Because…" He couldn't think of a good reason.

"Because you are planning on getting some… ya know??" Duo's eyes glimmered playfully and a taunting smile formed across his lips. Heero scowled.

"No. And even if I did, it would be none of your business." Heero hissed angrily.

Duo continued to smile at him. "You know… you guys aren't going to get anywhere if you insist on being so polite and cold to each other. I mean, have you guys even kissed?" The American's smile began to irritate Heero. He clenched his fist and resisted the urge to knock it off the other pilot's face.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore." Heero said flatly, and then turned to walk away. Duo scampered after him and blocked the main doorway with his body to keep Heero from escaping.

"Wait a second!" Duo pleaded. He stretched his muscled arms out at both sides to hold the doorframe. "You haven't kissed her yet?" Duo's voice began to heighten with excitement. "Heero… have you ever kissed _anyone?_"

Heero felt his face grow hot in embarrassment. He growled under his breath and tried to push Duo out of the way. The American pilot wouldn't budge.

"Not even Relena?" Duo asked. Heero's scowl deepened and he stood in silence, his face as red as a beet.

"Ooh. I see…" Duo muttered under his breath. He let his arms drop to his sides and then took a small step towards Heero. "Well… why don't you try to kiss this Yuki girl. It is obvious she likes you…"

Heero looked up at Duo's face, confusion flashing across his eyes. He was surprised that he was even entertaining any advice from the American boy. However, it seemed that Duo was much more confident in this sort of thing.

"She isn't that kind of woman…" Heero said, his eyes locking with Duo's. He thought he saw Duo falter under his gaze, but if he had it was only for a moment because the American pilot straightened confidently and closed the distance between them. He stood in front of Heero and gave him a brilliant, reassuring smile.

"Who says she has to be ANY kind of woman? All women like kissing, Heero. It is like taking all of your feelings for someone and making it into an action. You should kiss her. It will show her you care. Much more than going over to labor in the hot sun all afternoon for her…" Duo's towel turban was sitting lop-sided on his head. The other pilot absently raised a hand to yank it down. His long, chestnut brown hair fell wildly over his bare shoulders and long, messy bangs began to shadow the other pilot's eyes from view.

"I am just not ready to. That's all." Heero confided. Duo was scratching the side of his damp hear absently, as if in deep thought. They stood there for a moment wordlessly before the American pilot nodded his head a little, as if affirming something to himself, and then stepped up even closer to Heero. His face was uncomfortably close.

"All you gotta do…" Duo mumbled softly as he leaned in close, "is come up to her and put your hand here…" Then the American pilot's hand lifted and settled on the nape of Heero's neck. The Japanese pilot's shoulders stiffened and he was frozen in place. His dark blue eyes widened as he stared at Duo's nose. "Then you lean in all close-like and-"

Heero wasn't sure what to do.

Duo closed the distance between their faces slowly.

Then their lips met.


	8. Chapter 8: Confusing Affections

Chapter Eight: Confusing Affections

It was the hottest day of the year. The children who usually gathered near the pond had all taken refuge beneath the shade of the heat-wilted trees to trade cards. Their voices, which often were loud and rambunctious, now barely rose above a murmur.

It was just too hot to do anything. The dark green ducks floated lazily along the water's steamy surface. They tilted forward to dunk lethargically beneath the lukewarm water in attempt to cool themselves. They were strangely silent. The effort it took to QUACK required energy that the mid-morning sun had all ready sapped away.

Even little Kirin was quiet. The young boy was folded weakly over the side of the white fence that lined the perimeter of Yuki's lawn. He was watching Heero dig a mighty big hole. The act of watching was exhausting but he stood idly by. He was loyal to the Japanese pilot and, in his child mind, felt that if Heero could handle the heat so could he.

Heero was ignoring him. He was focused primarily on the task at hand. Digging. He could not even recall why Yuki had requested this hole to be dug in this particular spot because in actuality he hadn't heard a thing she said all morning. The dark-haired youth had waited patiently for her explanation before picking up the shovel and immediately going to work. His body trembled with the strain of the labor in such heat. His white shirt, with exception of the sleeves, was drenched in sweat and clung desperately to his coiling muscles. His hands were filthy, and so too was his forehead where the dirty hands had dragged across his skin to knock the beads of sweat away.

He felt miserable and for many reasons. One was the heat, which seemed to have the same effect on everyone else. The second reason was that his tired body was stiff from having slept on the floor. The third and most pressing reason was the confusing incident that had occurred the night before.

He shook his head to try and erase the thought from his mind before continuing to dig again. He fell into a quick, violent rhythm. He jabbed the dry earth with the shovel, then scooped up the ashen contents before hauling it over his shoulder. It landed on the growing pile behind him with a soft rustle. Over and over again he did this. Every time the memory threatened to nag him he would shovel harder, and faster.

_Why did he do that? _Dig Dig Dig. _What was he thinking?_ Pound, Dig, Flip.

_What did it mean?_

He clenched his jaw tightly and began to grind his teeth. Then, with a sharp jab he forced the spaded tip of the shovel into the ground and, with an aggravated yank, went to pull it out. The handle splintered in two with a loud crack.

Heero saw Kirin jump out of the corner of his eye. He looked down at the shovel. The handle had snapped in half, leaving two frayed pieces of wood.

_Shit…_ Heero cursed himself a few times before picking up the battered stick. Kirin straightened and then leaned over the fence to inspect it as well.

"We have another shovel." The little boy said, breaking the silence. Heero frowned and took a deep, long breath before looking over at the little boy.

"I will take it to town to have it repaired." Heero said softly as he turned the broken handle around in his hands. Kirin nodded and climbed over the fence to stand at the edge of the hole. "Tell your mother I will be back."

The little boy was excited to have Heero request something of him and with an eager nod he bolted across the lawn and vanished into the house. The Japanese pilot climbed out of the hole and quickly began to make his way towards the hill. He needed a break from his labor.

_A walk would do me good, _he thought to himself_._

He clutched the broken shovel tightly as he approached the street. A few cars whizzed by him. In doing so they stirred up the humid air to create a pleasant, cool breeze. He turned west and began walking along the two-lane road. The asphalt was hot. Its black, tar surface seemed to melt beneath his feet and stick to the bottom of his shoes to impede his progress and make every step require twice the effort. He squinted his eyes against the hot sun and peered down the thin dark strip of street. The heat was rising from its surface causing a mirage-like distortion resembling water at its furthest point.

_I wish I had a car, now…_ he thought bitterly as he plodded along.

After moving to his new home he had chosen not to purchase anything he deemed unnecessary. On most occasions he would welcome the walk to town but under these conditions it had become very inconvenient.

After a quarter of a mile he couldn't handle the restricting discomfort his wet shirt gave him so he had peeled it from his damp skin. It improved his current comfort, but he could feel the mild burning sensation of the sun getting revenge on his shoulders and neck. He would suffer for that decision later.

After five minutes of walking he began to slip into his previous thoughts about Duo. This time, however, he allowed himself to reflect on it. Perhaps it was easier to have these thoughts when not under the scrutinizing stare of a seven year old boy. He also felt more at ease in reflecting on the former night's events now that he was walking. Pacing always managed to soothe the mind.

He stared ahead as he went but saw nothing. In his mind he began to illustrate the events that had taken place.

_Duo had been taunting him for never having kissed anyone. Then, as if in demonstration, the American pilot had begun to advance on Heero to kiss him. When their lips met Heero has lost his breath as well as all common sense. He could see Duo's face out of focus in close proximity to his own and felt the other pilot's smooth, full lips against his mouth. He had become confused. His first reaction was the fight response. He had balled his hand into a fist and began to aim for the American's perky nose. Then something had stopped him. It was a combination of things, actually. He had felt Duo's fingers press against the back of his neck to draw him closer and in the same instant the other pilot's tongue had darted out to lap slowly against Heero's lower lip._

His footsteps against the smoldering asphalt turned into furious stomps as he trudged on. He began to chew on the spot on his lip where Duo had licked.

_Then he recalled a strange sound come from his own throat. He had never heard himself make such a noise in pain or when pleasuring himself. It was a moan, and the sound of his own aroused voice startled him. It had surprised Duo as well because just as he made the noise the American pilot pulled away and stared at him. They stood there for what felt like an eternity just staring at each other before the American pilot had begun to laugh. Heero's face had grown hot with embarrassment. Duo laughed for a minute or so before slapping Heero on the back. Then the other pilot gave him a few words of encouragement like "so yeah, that is how it is done" and "go get 'em, tiger" before changing the subject. For the rest of the evening Duo had acted like nothing had ever happened. Heero stood there pretending to listen to the American pilot list off things he would need to buy at the store the next morning. The night ended with Duo insisting that he should sleep on the floor instead of Heero but ended up taking the bed anyway. Heero had stayed up for most of the night lying on the floor in the adjacent room fretting over the strange kiss while the American snored away loudly. The next morning Heero had slipped away to Yuki's house before Duo woke._

Heero clutched the broken shovel tightly against his sweaty palm and came back to reality. The edge of town was just ahead.

_That was my first kiss…_ Heero reflected. _And it was nothing but a joke._

He froze in mid step and nearly toppled over his own feet.

_No… that doesn't have to be my first kiss._ He thought frantically, then turned around and looked down the path from which he had come. _I can make my own._

He squeezed the handle of the shovel tighter and narrowed his eyes in determination. The idea marched back and forth across his brain. _It doesn't have to be… It doesn't have to be…_

It was absurd for him to be obsessed with such things as first kisses and romance. Despite what everyone thought of him he WAS a passionate person. He was just never sure how to express himself.

Now that Duo had demonstrated what he had to do he was more determined than ever to get his point across.

He threw down the pieces of shovel and ran. He ran down the street towards his neighborhood. His legs pumped wildly against the ground as he did. His heart pounded in his chest and he sucked in deep breaths of humid air as he went. His lungs began to ache but it didn't stop him. With a newfound burst of energy fueled solely on raw emotion he continued onward.

By the time he reached the hill that flanked Yuki's property he was drenched with sweat. Every muscle from his jaw to his big toe was wound tight. He slowed his pace as he came up to the white fence. With ease he hopped over it. Kirin was running towards him. He passed the little boy without so much as a glance and strode into Yuki's house with newfound confidence.

Yuki was kneeling beside a small table in the center of her little cottage. She was arranging pastel colored flowers in a tall, clear vase. She turned around as he entered the house.

"Heero? Really, you didn't have to go all the way to town to have my shovel fixed!" She said cheerfully. As she rose to her feet she noticed the state the Japanese pilot was in. His hair was plastered to his head. He was still shirtless. Sweat glistened from his sun-kissed skin and ran in small rivers down his chest to be soaked up by his dark brown khaki shorts. He was breathing heavily.

"Heero… what's wrong? Are you all right?" She approached him cautiously with a worried and somewhat fearful expression. His eyes flashed with an unreadable emotion as he stood mutely staring at her.

_I can change this…_ he thought wildly. _I will show her how I feel._

He wordlessly approached her.

_I'll follow Duo's advice…_

He grabbed her by the back of the neck. Maybe a little rougher than she was used to being touched. She flinched a little. However, he didn't seem notice. His eyes gazed down at her as if in a trance.

_… and I will show her how I feel._

Then with a rough yank he pulled her towards his face and pressed his mouth against hers. For a fraction of a second he waited to see her reaction. Would she moan like he had? Would she faint with desire?

Nothing happened.

_Oh… I forgot to add the final touch…_

Just as he was about to lick her lower lip she let out a loud, high-pitched wail. He jumped and released his death grip on the back of her neck. She felt backwards to the floor. He realized then that perhaps he had held her too tightly because from the way she crumpled to the ground she must not have had her feet on the ground at all. He stumbled back away from her and held his breath.

"Yuki… I…" Heero stammered in shock. He looked down at the terrified woman on the ground. She jumped up quickly and began backing away from him. "Yuki, I'm sorry… I… don't understand, I didn't mean to-"

"Get out!" She screamed. The tone of her voice was shrill and made his head ache. He stepped back from her and felt his hands begin to shake. "Get out! GET OUT!" She yelled while she jabbed her finger towards the front door. Kirin appeared behind her watched them with a confused and frightened stare.

Heero just stood there in shock. He wasn't sure what to do. He had done what he thought was right. He tried to show her he cared. He did everything that Duo did, so why was her response so violent towards him?

_She isn't that kind of woman…_he could hear his own voice echo in his ears.

And she wasn't. He turned and walked away. He swiftly departed from her property and then walked up to the edge of the pond and stared across it.

_What did I do wrong? _The thought repeated through his head over and over again. He went over the steps he had taken in kissing her and couldn't pinpoint his error. With a defeated sigh he slumped to a sit on the shore of the water and stared forlornly at the undisturbed surface of the lake. He closed his eyes and took in a long, deep breath. His body ached. He was uncomfortable. His skin was sticky and covered with a thin layer of grime.

_I need a bath._ He realized. He hopped up began walking home with head hung in defeat. The shade of the woods leading to his house did little to comfort him as he trekked along the beaten path. The usual pride he felt at seeing his well-maintenanced home failed to raise his spirits. He slipped through the front entrance and sulked across the main room to the bathing room. He didn't even notice Duo, who was standing in the doorway of the bedroom.

"Hiya Heero." Duo said in a perky voice. Heero didn't respond. He lumbered into the bathing room and slid the screen to close it in the approaching American's face.

"Hey! What's wrong with you? You sick or something?" Duo asked. Concern lined the edges of his voice. Heero began drawing his bath silently. He could feel Duo's presence on the opposite side of the screen.

"You wanna talk about it?" Duo asked, unrelenting. Heero ripped off his clothes and slid into the cool bath water without a word. If the act of frowning made a noise Duo's would have been the loudest frown the Japanese pilot had ever heard. He heard the exasperated sigh loud and clear from the opposite side of the screen.

"Heero… you can talk to me ya know. I want to help you." Duo muttered. Heero turned his head and saw Duo's silhouette. He noted how angular the other pilot's shoulders were and how his sides sloped inwards to produce a finely narrowed waist. He also spotted the American's braid swaying lazily behind him.

"Your help is what got me into this mess." Heero grumbled under his breath. Suddenly the screen snapped open and Duo leaned in to glare at him.

"Hey! What did I do wrong?!"

"What are you doing!?" Heero shouted and reflexively stood up. The bath water sloshed in the tub, and some of it spilled over the sides to splash on the floor. Heero's shoulders stiffened and his posture became almost aggressive. Duo shied back a step or two, perhaps expecting the Japanese pilot to lunge at him from the tub and throttle his neck. However, Heero did no such thing. He just stood there glaring at the American, hoping the other pilot would leave. Duo, of course, never could take a hint. He stood his ground and participated in the all-out staring match Heero had initiated.

"What did I do this time?" Duo interrogated him, his curiosity obvious. Heero's glare hardened.

"Why are you interfering with my life, Duo? Can't you find someone else to terrorize?" Heero said coldly. He then turned his back on Duo to glare holes at the darkened shoji screen at the opposite side of the room.

A long moment of silence passed. The sun was setting behind the trees casting an eerie orange glow through the window of the bathing room. Heero's head ached. Today was one of the most dramatic days he had ever experienced and he was hoping Duo would just leave him alone so he could sort out his thoughts.

The Japanese pilot heard a sigh and then a strange sound of house shoes being dragged across the wooden floors. The sound seemed to vanish into the hallway. He froze in place until he thought he was alone and then turned around to look at the doorway when he came face-to-face with the American pilot. He instinctively raised a fist to swing at Duo. The braided boy must have expected this response. He ducked out of the way and shoved Heero's side roughly and knocked him down into the tub.

The dark-haired pilot landed with a loud grunt. The bath water displaced in all directions. Duo had leapt into the tub with him fully clothed. Heero's mind raced. His fingertips began to tingle as his body started to react automatically in defense. He began planting hard, calculated blows against Duo's chest. The American flinched at the hits but didn't retreat.

"What are you-"

Heero's voice was cut off by a hand smothering his mouth.

"Shut up." Duo said grimly. Heero pulled his fist back to strike the other pilot on the side of the head but stopped. He stared up at the American with and unblinking, stunned stare.

"I am sorry I caused you so much trouble, Heero." Duo said. His hand was still firmly placed over the Japanese pilot's mouth. "I am also sorry about last night. I shouldn't have done that."

Heero's eyes narrowed slightly as he studied the other boy's face. Duo had a calm expression but he noticed that behind those purple-blue eyes was a hint of anguish. He let his fists loosen and let his arms relax.

"I don't know why I did it. I know it bothered you. I never… thought I would have kissed you. It was just what felt right at the moment." The braided pilot's voice began to sound strained. "I wanted to just forget it happened… but now you are mad at me and, well, you're my friend. I don't want to ruin our friendship. Can you forgive me?"

Heero nodded.

" So… if I let you go, you're not going to kill me, are you?"

Heero shook his head.

Duo nodded and released the Japanese pilot's mouth. Then he very awkwardly slid out of the water and sat at the edge of the tub. Heero watched move away and then sat up himself.

_He doesn't know about Yuki. _Heero reminded himself, _he thinks I am really upset at him._

The dark-haired boy toyed with the idea of telling Duo about what happened only an hour ago at Yuki's house but he wasn't sure if he was comfortable confiding in anyone. He looked up at Duo. They watched each other in silence. He could tell the other boy was trying to figure out what he was thinking. The American's eyes were scanning his face intently, probing for any hint of emotion that could clue him in on how Heero was feeling.

The Japanese boy sucked in a deep breath of air and spoke slowly in hopes that the words would come out right. "I am not mad at you. I kissed Yuki today. She rejected me." There. He had let it out. He felt a hint of relief in saying it out loud, but then the nagging heat of embarrassment began to crawl across his skin. He looked down at his hands in the water, then up at Duo who was staring down at him with a blank expression.

"I tried to kiss her. I did everything you did, Duo. She just screamed and told me to leave. I felt… so… " He didn't know the words to describe it. Heero was never very good with words.

"-embarassed?" Duo added to the end of Heero's sentence. Heero thought on this for a moment then nodded in agreement. Duo frowned and began picking something absently from a fingernail. "That sucks man. I'm sorry… you gonna be OK?"

Heero frowned and nodded. "Yes. I just need to figure some things out."

Duo looked up from his fiddling fingers and smiled. "OK then. Well, I am glad you're not mad at me. I was worried you were going to stab me in my sleep. I didn't sleep a wink!"

Heero raised an eyebrow at the other pilot and huffed. "Please… your snores shook the house."

"I faked those so you'd think I was asleep!" Duo exclaimed brightly. He hopped off of the edge of the tub and started to retreat towards the doorway. "S'okay though." Then with an expert wave of his hand the American pilot flicked his wrist and a knife appeared in his hand. "You try to kill me tonight I am gonna shank you!"

"Get out." Heero said flatly. The corner of his mouth perked a little as Duo began wildly swiping the knife through the air. Then he watched as Duo spun around and tripped. The American righted himself before impaling his ribcage with his knife and vanished around the corner into the hallway with a flourish of long, chestnut brown braid.

Once Duo was gone Heero slumped down into what was left of his bathwater. He began chewing the corner of his lip where Duo had licked him.

_When I kissed Yuki I felt nothing._ Heero reflected, _but when Duo kissed me everything tingled. It felt so good. Why didn't it feel the same? What did I do wrong?_

The Japanese pilot frowned and slid down even further into the water. He let his chin touch its cool surface. He shifted a leg side to side which made the water shift around and lap up against his bare chin.

He wondered about Duo. Duo was a good person, he knew. He was his friend. He had obsessed and dreamed about his fellow pilot when Duo had been taken hostage. And now he was confiding in Duo about Yuki, which was something he never thought he would ever do.

_This is confusing._

He had always had a difficult time trusting anyone and until their unexpected kiss the night before Duo had never done anything to break Heero's trust. He was reliable. He was a good soldier. He was an excellent pilot. He could handle a gun remarkably well, which was something else he admired about the American pilot. As much as Duo's sense of humor got on Heero's nerves he appreciated the braided boy's ability to lighten the mood with a winning smile and a well-executed wisecrack.

In fact there was very little Heero didn't like about Duo.

_No… wait. Duo is a bottomless pit. He snores. He listens to his music too loud. He laughs too much and at inappropriate times. He can't self-destruct his Gundam effectively…_

Heero frowned. Those were petty things and he knew it.

_I'm lucky to have him as a friend…_ he realized.

Just then he heard Duo stomp over to the open doorway. The American poked his head around the corner and grinned wickedly at the Wing pilot.

"What?" Heero asked impatiently as he shot a sideways glance at his grinning friend.

Duo's eyes glimmered with mischief. "I just came to tell you I saw it. And mine's bigger."

Splash-Thump,Thump,Thump-Skid

"I WILL KILL YOU!"


	9. Chapter 9: Back to Old Ways

Chapter Nine: Back to Old Ways

Chapter Nine: Back to Old Ways

The next day Heero woke to what he thought was the sound of pans being banged together. However, as he entered his kitchen he came to realize it was Duo attempting to cook.

"Gooood morning!" Duo sang from his spot in front of the stove. Heero detected the faint scent of carbon, which could only mean two things. One, that Duo was burning something. The second was that he would have a difficult time scrubbing those burnt contents off of his pans.

"Mn…" Heero greeted the cheerful chef in his trademark way before shuffling over to take a seat at the low table. "What sort of chemical compounds are you constructing today?"

Duo turned around. He was holding a spatula which he used as a nose scratcher as he spoke. "A surprise breakfast to chase away that depressing funk you've been in for the past few days." The American pilot said in a sunny, energetic voice. Heero frowned and began rubbing the back of his head in thought. He had been down for the past few days and it was a nice gesture for Duo to offer to make him breakfast.

_Nomatter how bad it is I will try to eat it_, he decided.

Duo turned back around and noisily began preparing his surprise breakfast. A puff of smoke came from the range on the stove and a wide array of noises from sizzling to scraping came from the American's work station.

"Okay! All done!" Duo announced happily. He turned around with two plates and approached the table. Heero grimaced as Duo neared and was expecting the worst.

However, he was pleasantly surprised.

Duo set an oblong plate in front of him that was overflowing with food. A small stack of French toast sat in the center of the plate. The edges of the toast were perfectly toasted. A square of melting butter sat atop the waterfall of caramel-colored syrup. There was a mount of bright yellow, moist scrambled eggs topped with melted cheese and a two pieces of red and white crispy bacon.

Heero picked up a fork and pushed the food around a little to inspect it. There wasn't a single blackened, charred spot anywhere. He glanced up at the other boy who had taken his seat and was beginning to down his own plate quickly.

The dark-haired pilot took a bite of each item. The French toast melted in his mouth. The eggs were perfectly seasoned and the bacon had the perfect texture. He smiled in satisfaction as he ate. He enjoyed the combination of tastes that begun to overwhelm his mouth. Duo had finished eating and began explaining to Heero the wonders of American breakfast and how you could go to a place called I-H-O-P and get these delights at any time of day.

Heero liked that concept.

Then the conversation then took a strange and serious turn. Heero had been trying to scrape the last of the syrup off of his plate without being obvious about it when Duo cleared his throat and leaned over the table a little bit as if to emphasize he had a serious bit of information to relay. Heero paused in chasing the bead of syrup across his plate to look up at the American with a curious stare.

"I think you need to go back and talk to Yuki." Duo stated. Heero felt an uncomfortable sensation fill his body.

"No." Heero said coldly. He abandoned his attempts at getting at the final syrup residue and pushed the plate roughly away from himself. "It is over, Duo."

"It doesn't have to be over! You made a mistake, Heero. If she really cared about you she would listen to what you had to say!" Duo insisted. The American boy began to look apprehensive and seemed to be questioning whether he should continue the conversation. Heero hoped he would give it up.

"What could I possibly tell her?" Heero muttered angrily. He grabbed the edge of the table with both hands and stared down at his empty plate. "I don't have anything to say. She wouldn't accept my apology. It is a lost cause."

Duo shook his head. His messy bangs fell over his eyes, which had darkened considerably. Duo's mouth pursed in what Heero interpreted as a look of determination.

"I think you should tell her about yourself. Like, you should sit down and discuss your past with her. I think that will make her realize how hard it is for you to … ya know, be a human being." Duo added the last part quickly. A small smile lit up his previously determined expression.

"I can't." Heero said. He shifted a little on his cushion and released his death hold on the table. "I can't tell anyone I was a Gundam pilot, Duo. It is in the past. I don't want that to follow me here…" He then looked up from the table to see Duo frowning at him.

"Heero. That is who you are. You have to embrace it. It was your life, it made you who you are now. Are you saying you're ashamed of what you did? Because I don't think you should be. Not after you practically saved the world. And multiple times!"

Heero never saw it that way and couldn't seem to find it in himself to agree with the long-haired boy. He hated what he did. He resented not being a normal teenager with problems like who to date, what clique to join and what sport to play in high school. No, he hated his past and he didn't want to recall it. He wanted to start over. He certainly did not want to share those dark secrets with Yuki, who all ready thought lowly of him for what he did to her the day before.

Despite her rejection Heero still felt a deep affection for the beautiful Japanese woman. Maybe it was her innocence? Maybe it was her natural beauty that drew him to her? He had a deep desire to share his past with her and let her see him for what he really was, but he was scared. He didn't want her to reject him again. He didn't want her to think he was a monster. The idea of Yuki embracing his old memories was absurd. She was pure and innocent. He felt that her mind should never need to dwell on death, destruction or war.

Heero shook his head again and began to glare holes into the table top. "No. I can't, Duo. You just don't understand."

Duo scoffed and then let out a bitter laugh. "I don't understand! Me? If anyone can understand it is gonna be me! Who was standin' next to you in battle, Heero? Me! Who took a punch in the gut from you to let you escape and did your superman act? Me! Who had to sit in a jail cell with Wufei for an eternity listening to his JUSTICE rants while you were out saving the world? ME! Sheesh, gimme a little credit!" The American leaned back a little and began playing with the tip of his braid nervously. "I know you better than anyone, Heero- which isn't saying much… but you know as well as I do that you like that girl and, since I am the Dr. Phil of love advice, I suggest you get your rear in gear and tell her how you're feelin'."

Heero only got half of the references Duo had made. He stared at the other boy with wide, deep blue eyes for a long moment before narrowing them in an affirmative gesture. "You're right. I should tell her." Suddenly the Japanese pilot was feeling empowered. He stood up quickly and went to his room to change.

_He's right. I have to be honest. I have to let her know who I am… and how I feel about her. Then maybe she will accept me._

He pulled on a light pale blue cotton shirt and a pair of beige shorts then quickly walked back into the kitchen. He stood in the doorway for a moment. Duo was washing dishes and in doing so creating another massive puddle in front of the sink. Bubbles floated lazily through the air around the American's head. The other pilot felt Heero's presence and glanced over his shoulder at him.

"Lookin' good." Duo said with a note of encouragement in his voice. Heero ran a hand through his dark, messy hair in attempt to tame his wild locks but to no avail. The American pilot noticed this and with a small grin bounded up to him and grabbed the sides of Heero's head with wet, soapy hands.

"Duo? What are-"

"Hold still."

"That hurts…"

"Boo-hoo…" Duo taunted. He began running his hands through Heero's hair, tugging the locks this way and that in rough yanking motions. Then, after about a minute of wrestling with Heero's thick hair the American stepped back to inspect his work.

Heero's head felt odd. His hair was settled differently against his head and the shift of its weight made his scalp feel strange.

"Very nice." Duo exclaimed. "No… wait a sec." Then the braided boy spat in his hand and before Heero could protest had ran the spittle-glazed palm against Heero's bangs to slick them back. "Now you're ready to go!"

Heero was staring at Duo. He couldn't believe the other pilot had spit in his hair.

"Well, what are ya looking at? Get to it!" Duo exclaimed before pushing Heero roughly towards the door. Heero stumbled at first, caught his footing, then strode awkwardly outside and towards the wooded path.

He paused at the edge of the woods to look over his shoulder at Duo, who was leaning against the framework waving at him with a giant, face-splitting smile.

What he didn't see was the pain in Duo's eyes.

By the time Heero had reached pond to look down into the reflective surface whatever Duo did to his hair had come undone. His hair, now somewhat damp from the wet hands and spit, hung uncontrollably around his head. With a small, defeated sigh he continued on to Yuki's house.

He approached the hill and began to climb its gentle slope. Children's voices could be heard in the distance. He couldn't see them but it was obvious they had been there only minutes before. A broken kite had been abandoned in the deep, rich grass. Its string was stretched lengthwise across the hill and tangled against Heero's shoe as he walked past it. He paused in his walk to Yuki's to pick it up and inspect it. The left support stick had been snapped and there was a small tear in the left top corner of the kite. He turned it over in his hands once. It was made of plastic rather than canvas. The face of the kite had geometric shapes in black, yellow and white. It half-resembled a bumble bee. Deciding he could fix it, he rolled the kite up, gathered up the knotted string and continued on towards the little cottage.

He entered the gait warily and looked around the garden. Yuki, who usually was pruning her bushes or planting seeds, was nowhere to be seen. He approached the front door and gave it a light knock before turning around to search the yard again. Kirin didn't seem to be outside either. Usually when Heero came over the young boy would appear faithfully at his side and would not leave that spot until Heero left.

Nobody answered the door. He knocked again, this time more forcefully, thinking perhaps they may not have heard him. Suddenly, with his improved hearing, he detected a soft voice somewhere behind the door. Then footsteps as the person approached. Then there was a short pause before the door swung open. Yuki was standing in the doorway looking flush.

"Good morning." Heero said softly, bowing a little in greeting. She inclined her head politely but said nothing. Heero felt a gnawing sensation in his stomach. He considered the idea of turning and running away. "May I speak to you?"

She watched him for a moment with an anxious expression. Heero felt terrible. She looked, to him, as if she was ready to scream "RAPE" at any moment. Then she nodded and held the door open for him to enter. He slid inside and walked over to her table by the kitchen and sat without being asked. She followed him in silence, and then sat down on the opposite side of the table to watch him intently. Heero sensed another presence nearby and knew that Kirin must have been watching from a hiding spot.

"Yuki. I am sorry for what happened yesterday," he said flatly, his eyes locking with her face.

_I can do this… I will tell her everything._

"I want to let you know that I didn't mean to hurt you. I have never … well, kissed anyone before and I couldn't control myself."

Yuki's face softened a little and she seemed to relax in her seat. "I see," she whispered, her voice faint and delicate.

"And I want to let you know that I care for you deeply. I have felt this way since the first moment I met you. I want to protect you, but to do so I must tell you who I am. I want to share these things with you." This was more difficult than Heero thought it would be. The words tumbled awkwardly from his mouth, but nevertheless he managed to blurt them out. Yuki's eyes shimmered a little and she nodded to him. Her hand reached across the table to settle on Heero's tense fingers. His fisted hand relaxed at her touch.

He took in a deep breath, paused for a moment to situate his thoughts and then began to tell her his life's story. He told her about being a boy on L1, about his training as an assassin, and about how he came to be under Dr. J's instruction. He stopped after that to study her face. She seemed relaxed and very receptive to his information. Her expression was one of interest and compassion. He decided to continue.

"Then I began training with a special mobile suit. Soon I was sent on mission by the colonies to help in their efforts to liberate themselves from oppression from the Earth Sphere Alliance."

Yuki's eyes widened in surprise. "What do you mean?"

Heero's chest ached with anxiety. He frowned, shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and then looked up at Yuki and spoke very slowly. "I am Gundam Pilot 01."

The woman's face turned white as a sheet and her hand trembled against Heero's before she pulled it away from him. He could tell she was warring with emotions. Her eyes reflected many of them. Fear, anxiety, sorrow, grief, anger… then their dark depths swirled with something he didn't expect.

_Hate_.

"You are a Gundam pilot? Wing 0?" Her voice shook as she spoke the name of his Gundam. He nodded and studied her reaction closely. Her formerly beautiful, serene face had transformed. Creases burrowed their way across her forehead and around her pink petaled mouth. A scowl turned those plump, pink lips downward. The transformation seemed to have made her 20 years older.

"You…" Suddenly she stood up. The small table shuddered as she did so. Heero instinctually stood up as well. "You murderer!" The woman screamed. With shocking speed she lunged across the table and grabbed at the front of Heero's shirt. Her nails dug deeply into his chest. "YOU KILLED MY HUSBAND!" Her voice rose in a supernatural crescendo until it was nothing more than an indecipherable scream. She began beating her clenched fists against his chest. Her strength was alarming. Heero reflexively grabbed her arms and tore her off of him. Within a second she was sprawled on the ground wailing. Her body began to shake with sobs.

"God why! WHY!" She exclaimed in anguish. Heero stood over her. He didn't know what to do.

_Her husband was a soldier._ The thought made his tense and clench his teeth. What a cruel fate this was. Another woman he had fallen in love with was to be kept from him because of his past. He looked down at her with sad eyes. She continued to scream and curse God.

"It is over then." He said slowly. Something within him began to retreat from the surface. His passion was gone. His emotions were backing away to hide deep within him, as they had so many years before when he was an assassin. A little boy with no feelings. Unconsciously he began to lock them away as he backed away from her.

Then he left. The sound of the woman's screams from inside the house followed him as he made his way up the hill. His body began to feel strange. It started to become very heavy. Every step was labored and difficult to take. As he walked away he went further and further into himself.

It was the only way he knew how to cope. He didn't cry. He would no longer allow himself to feel so deeply for anyone or anything. Like he had before, he would be logical. Rational. He would worry about the task at hand. There was no room in his life to be passionate, and well… look what it got him. When he acted on his emotions it caused nothing but trouble.

He decided not to make the same mistake again. His feelings for Relena had interfered with his objectives in the past. And now that he wished to lead a normal, peaceful life he ended up falling in love with a woman who could never understand him and who would never love him. She was still in love with the ghost of her husband, and being the killer he had no place in her heart.

He realized that the broken kite was still tucked away in his hand. He stopped beside the pond and looked down at the broken toy with narrowed eyes. With a sudden clench of his fist he snapped the kite's small support sticks and threw it. It fluttered in the air and landed with a small splash in the pond. There is floated for a few moments before sinking below the gray water.

The sorrow and anger he felt began to fade away. Slowly the anxious tightening of his chest loosened. His arms and legs felt numb and body felt dull and distant.

Then he took a deep breath. His muscles relaxed. Then the Japanese pilot looked down at the water's reflection again. The Heero from this morning was gone. He stared down at the hardened, emotionless face of the pilot. The assassin. The murderer.

He was destined to be this way.


	10. Chapter 10: Revert

Chapter Ten: Revert

Heero was trying to organize his thoughts. He had realized that his fate was to be alone. He couldn't very well relate to a woman, let alone one like Relena who wanted peace through Pacifism or to Yuki, who was too common and innocent to love him. He had resolved his anger and his despair. He had come to the conclusion that he wasn't cut out for this kind of life; the peaceful, quiet, normal existence. He was bred for war. He was molded in the image of a perfect solider and even though he had not quite achieved perfection he was pretty damn close.

And so now his person was settled again. His thoughts had come into focus and his confidence in himself matched that of the first day of Operation Meteor. He had an objective now.

He would become a soldier again.

Even if it meant being the only one in the world. Even if it meant to be a lone soldier without an army, he would be a soldier and conduct himself as thus.

As he wandered the countryside he saw citizens of the world enjoying their freedoms. Little kids were riding bikes. Peddlers were selling their wares and farmers gathered their livestock under the warm, summer sun. They were oblivious of the danger they were in. Didn't they know that there was nothing to protect them. Pacifism didn't work. It had been proven in the past. At the moment the Pacifists had the upper hand but that was only because the opposing forces were waiting underground, building up their arsenals in preparation for a massive coup that would change the world order once more

And in the presence of this imminent danger the average citizen continued life as if nothing were happening. What would they do if threatened by a powerful force? They had no options. The Preventors were hard at work disassembling all armies, mercenary groups, and militias. In this way they believed that there would be total peace. How could people fight without weapons?

The reality was clear to Heero. Weapons weren't necessary for resistance. It was the free will of the individual to form resistance, and unless the forces that be could reign the desire to argue from those individuals there was no way to keep wars and disagreements from occurring

Peace was a temporary fix to a problem older than time itself. Man would find a way to rebel. It was only a matter of time. Many groups were secretly building arsonals in preparation for resistance. The Russian Rebel Movement that Duo had been taken by were trying to use Deathscythe's information to build a mobile suit. They were going to use force against the Pacifists to get what they wanted because negotiations were going nowhere.

Words were just not enough enough.

And, as Heero took the long trek through the woods home he decided he would be alone. He would lie in wait for the day that the world exploded into violence again. That day he would be needed and when it happened, he would be ready.

He got home just as the last few rays of sunlight graced the skies above. An owl hooted a greeting to him. He could hear the chipmunks scampering to hide in their hollow trees for the night. The air began to cool. He exchanged his shoes for house slippers and stepped inside his house. Having a home had lost its magic to him. Now it was only a place to sleep and store things.

He walked through the entryway to the common area. Duo was sitting at the table flipping through the latest issue of "Wild and Crazy Sport Bikers" magazine. The American pilot looked up at Heero as he entered and gave him a big grin. However, the grin didn't stay. Upon seeing the expression on Heero's face Duo's own happy smile began to fade away.

"I guess it didn't go so well, huh?" Duo asked hesitantly. The Japanese boy didn't say a word, just quirked a brow at his roommate before turning to walk into the bedroom. He could hear Duo shuffle to a stand and follow him. Immediately Heero began digging around in the duffle bag from the Russia trip to retrieve his new laptop. He hadn't touched it since Duo's rescue. He booted it up and sat down on his bed. He had no internet or telephone service but that wouldn't keep him from connecting to someone else's wireless signal. Once he found a suitable signal he unencrypted it and connected. Duo had bombarded him with questions about Yuki but Heero gave no response. Annoyed, the braided boy turned to vanish down the hall to leave the Japanese pilot to his hacking.

Heero worked diligently for hours. He hacked into the old Alliance mainframe and began to retrieve confidential data about OZ, the Treize Faction and The Specials. Much of this information was, strangely, loosely guarded. Many people felt the facts of the past weren't important now that total peace was achieved. For Heero it was vital. He began to study his former enemy's plans. Their mobile suits, beam cannon designs, shuttle records- everything he could get his hands on. The old information was soothing to him. It was something familiar, unlike the current civilian life around him.

Midnight came and went. Duo had padded into the bedroom and slipped wordlessly into his own bed. Ten minutes later the American was asleep. Heero's exceptional hearing detected Duo's slower, deep breaths even from beneath the other boy's covers. He continued to diligently search. He wasn't sure exactly what he was looking for. He just wanted to visit his past. He wanted to reflect on what he knew. Tactics, battles, maneuvers, mechanisms, and violence where familiar to him. They were his whole life.

With strained, tired eyes he glanced at the time stamp on his laptop.

3:45 AM.

He rolled his stiff shoulders and stifled a yawn with the back of his hand. He considered sleeping before glaring down at the laptop screen.

_Just one more thing…_

He began typing vigorously on the keys. His eyes narrowed as he focused on the task at hand. It took him another hour before he pulled forth an unnamed file on the screen. He had found the backup data from Wing 0. When OZ was attempting to replicate the zero system they had retrieved all files from Wing. All of his battle records, bullet counts, voice recordings and messages sent to the colony were all saved. He opened the file and began searching around. This was a compilation of his past. He sat for a long while reading reports, looking at graphs and scanning through random bits of data before he stumbled on a file containing video transfers. He clicked it and then randomly opened a video in the center of the column.

"_Hey," said a familiar voice. "Hey! What are you doing! Are you CRAZY!"_

_The screen lit up and young Duo was staring right back at him. The younger version of the Deathscythe pilot's eyes were bright with mischief. A bandaid was stuck to the side of the boy's face._

"_Look! I know you can hear me!"_

_The handsome face distorted a little as the video became choppy._

"_You're gonna get yourself killed! But whatever, if you're gonna get all crazy again I'll just have to join you." Past Duo grinned evilly and the video went out._

Heero stared at the screen as it went black and the video feed menu came to life again. He recalled that moment in time distinctly. He and Duo were attacking one of the Romefeller Foundation's mobile doll units when they were surrounded and extremely outnumbered. Wufei has pulled back to retreat. Duo had stayed with him.

Duo had never abandoned him.

He frowned deeply and opened another file. It was Quatre. Heero could see many of the flashing digital gauges in the Arabic boy's cockpit reflected against his large, bright blue eyes. He seemed sad.

"_Heero." The Japanese boy's name slid smoothly off of the blond's tongue. "You aren't alone in this. We can do it, together! If we can just-"_

Heero closed the window quickly and raised a hand to rub the spot between his eyes.

_I should really go to bed,_ he told himself. But his curious mind was still alert and completely awake. He scanned the column of saved videos and picked one near the bottom of the list.

_The screen lit up with Trowa's stoic face. The younger, unscarred version. The Heavyarms pilot looked relaxed as he stared into the screen. The conversation had only saved what was streaming in, so Heero had to assume the Trowa staring into the screen was listening to what the Japanese pilot had been saying at the time. Finally he saw the other pilot nod._

"_I guess that is a matter of opinion. I didn't think I would have become so close to Quatre in such a short amount of time… it is something about him. He is kind. His kind heart draws me to him. Having him be involved in this war is difficult. I worry about him, but I know that he is a capable pilot. It is something else that I can appreciate about him. We can share experiences better than anyone else. He understands what I have been through because he was there too. He knows what it is like to be expected to fight. He knows that struggle. I think being with him has helped me see that there is love for me out there. I know it now. He has showed me. I could never relate to anyone else…"_

Heero closed the window. He recalled that conversation vaguely. It was when they were waiting at the dark side of the moon for their target. They spent two hours waiting and, to pass the time, began to talk. It was one of the few times Trowa had confided in Heero.

He sat there for a long while staring at the many open panes littering his laptop screen. He began to think about Trowa and Quatre. They were perfect for each other. They endured criticism for being gay from some but they stayed together nonetheless. It didn't matter what anyone said, did or thought.

Heero heard something move from behind him. He knew it was Duo but he pretended not to notice. Suddenly he felt a light breath against the side of his face which caused him to peer sideways to see the tip of Duo's nose.

"Go to sleep." Heero said plainly as he snapped his laptop shut.

"What were you doing? I thought I heard Trowa talking." Duo said in a groggy voice. Heero pushed the laptop aside and turned to look at Duo. The American pilot's hair was a mess and his eyes were half-lidded from fatigue.

"Nothing. Go to bed."

The braided boy wouldn't take no for an answer. "I heard Quatre's voice, too. Were you talking to them?"

Heero shook his head and scowled at the American pilot. "No. I was just watching some of my old vid-phone feed."

Duo blinked. His eyes widened with excitement a little and a small smirk crossed his face. "Oh yeah? That's pretty cool! How did you manage to get those?"

Heero watched as Duo took a seat beside him on the bed and began trying to grab the Japanese boy's laptop. Heero shoved it out of the braided boy's reach. Duo gave Heero a wide-eyed, pouty-lipped look. The Wing pilot looked away. Puppy eyes never worked on him.

"OZ had it stored away. I just came across it."

"Anything good?"

"Good…?"

"Like, videos of me kickin' butt?"

"No."

"Aw, damn."

They sat quietly for a moment or two before the American pilot raised his arms over his head to stretch. He bumped Heero's head by accident. The dark-haired boy nearly growled at him.

"Heero… do you ever miss it?"

"Miss what?"

"Being a Gundam pilot. I know you like living here now with the pond and the kids and stuff, but don't you ever miss just fighting? Going to space? I dunno. Maybe it is wrong of me to think like that- but I do." Duo confided, a small smile crossing his features.

Heero looked over at the American boy and studied his face as he let the other boy's words sink in. Duo missed war just like he did. Suddenly Heero was beginning to feel a little better.

"Yes. I miss it." Heero stated monotonously. Duo nodded and stared at his feet.

"Yeah. I know a lot of people died, and I don't wish that to happen. I just miss the freedom of it. I miss having a mission. I wish I could relive the fun parts. You know, the crazy piloting, the fighting, and that part where I shot you in front of Relena. That was friggin' priceless." Duo reminisced with a giant smile on his face. His eyes seemed to be smiling as well. Duo's happy recollection made Heero's lips curve up into a smile of his own.

"Let's not forget the countless times I saved you from the brig-" Heero began, but his voice was cut off by Duo playfully smacking him on the back of the head. Instead of punching Duo square in the face the Japanese boy let out a cheerful laugh at the blow and, with immense speed and accuracy he managed to wrestle Duo to the floor. He had pinned the braided boy's arms over his head before Duo could retaliate. His own muscular legs were tangled in the American's to keep him from kicking free.

The Deathscythe pilot began trying to fight back but upon realizing he couldn't break free he went limp under Heero's hold and began to laugh loudly.

"Now you're caught again." Heero replied playfully. He leaned in close to Duo's face. His own dark eyes locked with the other boy's widened gaze. "Who will save you now…" The Japanese pilot's voice was low and almost ominous. Duo stopped laughing and stared up at the dark-haired pilot in surprise.

Suddenly Heero felt strange. It was as if he was being pulled by some sort of magnetic force down towards the other pilot. He resisted it at first, but then slowly descended down to meet Duo's face. Their noses brushed together. Heero could feel the other boy's warm, heavy breath against his own mouth. The American's eyes were wide with an unreadable expression.

Before Heero could interpret his own actions his body finished the act for him. He leaned down and pressed his lips against Duo's.

Heero saw Duo's eyes widen even more. The Japanese pilot tensed and prepared to pull away, thinking perhaps he had made a mistake just as he had with Yuki. However when he went to end the kiss Duo lifted his face up to deepen it. Again Heero felt the soft caress of Duo's tongue against his lower lip. The act sent a chill up his spine. He felt the rumble of a soft groan escape his own throat before he parted his own lips.

Experimentally he prodded the other boy's warm, moist tongue with his own. His hands tightened on Duo's wrists. The American pilot moaned as he did so and arched his back against the floor to allow for the entire front half of his body to press up against the Japanese boy.

The act made Heero gasp and break free from their deep kiss. He had felt many things in that instant. A throbbing heat had begun to build in his groin, but as Duo had rocked up into him he sensed the other boy's pressing need as well.

Duo's cheeks were flushed and his lips were a deep shade of pink. They curled into a sly, satisfied smile.

"You're a fast learner." Duo teased. Heero released the American's arms and untangled his body from Duo's lithe, slightly aroused one. "I think I can teach you a few more things, if you wanna."

Heero sat up and considered this offer. His shorts were growing tighter and his blood was pumping loudly in his ears. He had never felt this sort of lust for anyone before. However, Duo was a formidable partner.

_We can share experiences better than anyone else. He understands what I have been through because he was there too._ Heero heard Trowa's voice lingering in his head. He began to understand what the Heavyarms pilot meant.

He leaned in close to the American boy and with a deft, smooth motion grasped his silky braid. With a gentle tug he pulled Duo's face close to his own.

"Show me." He whispered in a husky, deep voice.

So Duo did.


	11. Chapter 11: A Lazy Writer's Sneak Peek

**Chapter Eleven: A Lazy Writer's Sneak Peek**

_(( I had a busy weekend! I don't want to leave people in the dark for too long, so I am going to supplement chapter 10 with a short addition until I can sit down and write a formidable chunk of the plot! :3 – __Black-Haired Girl))_

* * *

Heero woke to a loud noise from somewhere within the room. He startled up to a sit at the sudden sound and began scanning the dark room for the source. His had only been asleep for an hour or two and his body was betraying him. His eyes wouldn't obey and focus on point of the room he wanted and his muscles were sore from the night's vigorous activities.

**CHIME-CHIME. CHIME.**

He glanced down to his right. Duo was curled up beneath the blanket. Only the top of the other boy's head was visible. A soft, musical snore floated up from beneath the comforter.

**CHIME-CHIME. CHIME. CHIME-CHIME. CHIME.**

"Duo." Heero elbowed the sleeping American pilot in the side. The other boy sat up slowly and began to rub his large, violet eyes, half-aware of what was going on.

"Whaaaaat?" The braided boy groaned. With some effort he managed to push himself up with an elbow. "W-what is it?"

**CHIME-CHIME. CHIME.**

"Iyyyaa! My phone!" At this realization the lithe American boy leapt up from the mattress and shuffled haphazardly towards the far corner of the bedroom. Clothes and personal items began flying in all directions as Duo dug around frantically. Heero watched from his spot on the bed, and then ducked as a tube of deodorant careened towards him, barely missing his head by a fraction of an inch.

"Ah ha!" Duo exclaimed happily as he held up the flashing cellular phone in the dim light. He then peered down at the external screen, gasped in surprise before flipping it open.

"Hello? Wufei? Hey! What's going on?... Uh huh… shit." Suddenly the American boy's happy expression darkened. His eyes began to shift from unrestrained glee to deep, concentrated concern. "Yeah. OK. See you soon." Then with a solemn snap he closed the phone.

"What is it?" Heero demanded calmly.

"Trouble." Duo muttered. He looked down at the floor. His eyes were shielded by his long, chestnut bangs. A dark shadow seemed to pass across his body as if the Duo Heero knew was fading away. "The Intergalactic Pacifist Conference was attacked this morning." Duo said in an even, flat tone. Heero saw him begin to clench his hands into quivering fists.

"By who?" Heero was all ready up out of bed and packing his gear in the duffle bag. He slid his laptop in neatly then began retrieving weapons from hidden places in the room. Currently he was prying an assault rifle from the underside of his bed frame.

"The Russian Rebel Movement. Quatre was there. Trowa, too. Wufei says he can't get a hold of them." Duo stated with voice straining. Heero paused in his attempt to get the rifle loose and looked up at his companion. Duo's shoulders were tense and shaking. His face was still hidden by the shadow his hair casted in the dim light.

"What else is there?" Heero urged. With a snap the assault rifle broke free and fell into the Japanese boy's hand. He stood up slowly while clutching the rifle tightly in hand. His eyes never left Duo. Duo shifted his weight uncomfortably. Heero knew something was wrong. Duo never let things get to him like this. Even if Trowa and Quatre may be in trouble. The other two boys were former Gundam pilots and were more capable than the average person of enduring tough situations. So what was it that troubled his friend so much?

Hesitantly Heero took a step closer to Duo. The American boy had begun to quiver.

Heero began wondering if Duo was going to be sick.

"What else is there, Duo?" Heero said in a soft but firm voice. The braided boy made a small sound in the back of his throat before looking up at Heero with glistening, reddened eyes.

"They have a Deathscythe."

* * *

((More tomorrow night – June 02, 2008 I promise. :3 As well as more info on what exactly Heero "learned" from Duo in Chapter 10. ;; No worries, it will all come together soon enough. Damn you "in-progress" work!!))


	12. Chapter 12: Resume and Go

Chapter Twelve: Resume and Go

Heero nearly dropped the rifle. "Deathscythe?"

That wasn't what he was expecting the other pilot to tell him. Tanks? Sure! Rebuilt, useless army Leos? Fine. But they are armed with a Gundam?! And not just any Gundam, but DEATHSCYTHE? He stiffened his shoulders and cleared his throat as he tried to find the right words to say. Nothing would come to mind.

Duo's face was pale. At the moment the American pilot looked as if he would faint. It was a different experience for Heero to see Duo so worked up over something, but he wasn't surprised. This situation was serious. Not only did the Russian Rebels have a killing machine that is nearly invincible, the world, too was in dire need for protection. All mankind had now were weak words and their fists. Hardly enough to duel with a fully armed mobile suit made out of one of the most practically indestructible materials man has ever known.

"How did they get it?" Heero asked firmly. He stepped up to his friend and placed a hand on Duo's shoulder in his usual strengthening gesture. It didn't work this time. Duo pulled away from him roughly and began pacing the room. Heero knew that Deathscythe's former pilot was progressing through the stages of shock and grief. He was nearing the anger phase.

"Damn it, Heero! How the fuck else did they?" Duo growled angrily as he began to stalk back and forth across the bedroom. Heero gripped the rifle tightly… just in case.

"I can't believe it. I can't…" Duo began uttering things under his breath. Heero made out "he told me ….," and "I shouldn't have…" mixed amongst his private words. Heero stepped up to the bed and placed the rifle beside his duffle bag before going up to the lamp on the bed stand. He lifted it up. It was hollow inside with a hole in the bottom. Three grenades rolled out from underneath. He added those to his duffle bag as well.

Duo had stopped in the middle of the room. He was staring at Heero but it was obvious that he was deep in thought. Finally he clenched a fist so hard it made his knuckles crack. The sound made Heero stop in place while retrieving a bar of C4 putty from behind a picture frame.

"This is all my fault, Heero. I have to fix this."

"What did you do?" Heero stuffed the C4 in the bag as well then turned to stare at his partner. Duo's eyes were cold and dark. His face was marred with aggressive, angry lines that surrounded his mouth and flanked his eyes making him have an uncharacteristic haggard appearance. The other boy rolled his eyes and began tugging at his braid nervously.

"I… well, when I was… oh fuck it!" Duo kicked the foot of Heero's bed in frustration then threw up his hands before slumping, defeated, to a sit on the mattress. His shoulders loosened and his eyes fell downcast to the floor. He began to inspect an imaginary spot on the wooden floorboard and began rubbing that spot with his big toe.

"When they took me hostage I told them things, Heero." The American boy began to poke even harder at the imaginary spot on the floor. "I… felt needed. When the war stopped I didn't know what to do. I tried everything to be normal, Heero. I got an apartment of my own. I got a job as a bar tender at a club in town at night and worked with a forklift at the docks every other morning. I know I didn't have to. The government gave me enough money for life, but… I felt restless." His eyes slid across the floor to stare blankly at Heero's bare feet. "I needed to do something. So, I went with a few former soldiers I met in town to a bike show. I was getting really into motorcycles. It was something to focus on. If I couldn't wrench on my gundam so I figured I would wrench on a bike. I found a good deal in the paper for a nice sport bike and went down to look at it. It was being sold by owner. I went down there and met up with the guy, some Russian dude, and got to talking. I kinda let the whole thing slip out. I wanted someone to confide in and he was a stranger, so I thought- hey! What's the harm, right? Turns out…" He let his amethyst gaze travel up Heero's legs and torso slowly. The path Duo's eyes took made Heero a little uncomfortable but he didn't show it. There wasn't anything Duo was seeing that he hadn't seen before. Finally their eyes met and locked. Heero detected a deep anguish in the American boy's wide-eyed gaze.

"Turns out… that guy was with the Russian Rebels. The bike was stolen. They were stealing bikes and cars and selling them to raise money for their cause. So I am at the bike show with my friends with my new bike showing it off… next minute I am bashed in the back of the head with a tire iron and dragged into a rusty van, tied up, and told that I should give them information before I die. I didn't tell 'em anything for the first few weeks, but then I started to realize that they were a lot like how we used to be. They used to be Russian soldiers but, after the war, they were abandoned. Nobody would hire 'em because they didn't know how to do anything but fire a gun. They were mad. Bitter. They felt like the world forgot 'em. So I became friends with them. It was much better than having them beat me. We agreed that I wouldn't tell them about my Gundam or how to build one. They agreed to let me help them in other ways. I taught 'em how to hack, how to shoot and run at the same time, how to make pipe-bombs and explained a lot of my strategies during the war."

Heero took in a slow, even breath before walking up to the American boy. With a steady hand he placed two fingers beneath Duo's chin and tilted his face up to meet his own. In Duo's eyes he could see that the other pilot was telling the truth and he could sympathize with him. He knew how the braided boy was feeling. He, too, was warring with his former soldier emotions and could understand how Duo had been easily caught up in the action of rebellion.

"So how did they get your Gundam?" Heero asked quietly. Duo frowned, shook his head, and then lifted a hand to rest on Heero's wrist.

"I didn't 'tell them how to build Deathscythe. After the war I went back to L2 for a while. When I did I found my childhood home, Maxwell Church. It was just an empty lot. The original building was gone. So, I used a large bit of my money to build a memorial for the kids who died there." Duo's eyes pulled away from Heero's gaze and he shifted uncomfortably.

"I wanted Deathsycthe to be buried there, too. After we blew up Deathscythe Hell I went down to the detonation site and found the core processor and motherboard, ya know… the brain. I buried those underneath the memorial." Then Duo's eyes blazed to life. "Those bastards musta found it. I told one of the guys about my past- they must have figured it out…"

Heero let his hand release Duo's chin and fall to his side. "I see." He watched as Duo looked down at the floor again. He knew that the other boy was confused and angry. For the sake of them both he would take over this situation. He knew Duo wouldn't be able to do so objectively. "Then we have a new mission." The former Deathscythe pilot looked up at Heero in suprise, gave a resolute nod before he stood and quickly began to pack his belongings. The Japanese boy was satisfied with his comrade's reaction. He went into the kitchen to begin gathering his supplies. A gun here, some ammo there… finally, he fished out his detonator from the cutlery drawer before returning to the bedroom. Duo was standing in the middle of the room with his go-bag over his shoulder fully dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt. His hair was neatly plaited and his eyes were less dramatic than before. Now they had a hint of excitement twinkling within them.

"Ready?" Heero asked.

Duo nodded and gave him a small, playful grin. "Yeah. I'm ready."

The trip was a long one. Brussels was a good distance away from Japan and when they finally landed jet-lag had begun to increase their previous exhaustion from lack of sleep. Duo didn't sleep on the plane. He was too anxious and managed to keep Heero awake with his constant talking and fidgeting. The Japanese boy did, however, manage to doze off for an hour or so while Duo was keeping himself occupied watching a movie. However, the nap was to be short-lived.

They arrived late in evening in Brussels. Wufei was waiting for them with a small, European economy car. Once in the car and safely on the freeway Wufei let out a loud, barking yell.

"You gave the Russians your blueprints?!" The car swerved to the right onto the shoulder as Wufei barely ploughed the small car into the back of a yellow moped. Heero saw the man on the moped shake his fist at them in the side-view mirror. Duo was sitting in the back seat. He had been silent the entire ride but now, having been scolded by Wufei, he was yelling back in a loud, strained yell.

"Not on purpose!"

"I can't believe you! All that we worked for wasted because you couldn't destroy some stupid data."

"I told you I was sorry…"

"It isn't good enough! Quatre and Trowa might be DEAD right now and it is because of your ignorance and sentimental notions! But what do you care? Everyone is expected to bend over backwards for you. You are so… so…"

"So what?!" Duo hissed angrily from the back seat. Heero stared straight ahead, watching the cars streak past as Wufei drove wildly through them. He decided he wouldn't get involved in their quarrel. Duo had to deal with the irate Wufei on his own.

"So- AMERICAN!" The Chinese boy exclaimed angrily. Suddenly he slammed on the brakes, having forgotten his exit, and cut the car sharply to the right. Heero braced himself against the seat. Duo, having no seatbelt on and having not anticipated the sudden motion, slid across the bench seat in the back and slammed roughly against the driver's side back door. The sound of tires squealing cut through the air as Wufei hopped a small curb and righted the car on the off-ramp. Heero relaxed again in his seat and crossed his arms tightly across his chest. He could hear Duo groaning behind him.

"Damn it…" Duo mumbled as he sat up in the seat. He rubbed the side of his head gingerly before resuming his glare to the back of Wufei's head. "Listen, Wufei, you can't blame me for ANYTHING. We all make mistakes. Shall I bring up some of yours? I mean, there was that one time with Marimaya-"

"Enough!" Wufei growled. He clutched the steering wheel so tightly Heero thought he heard the leather cover tear. "Enough, idiot. Fine. You are right. But you are going to have to work hard to fix your mistake, just as we all have. I am not going to fix it for you."

Duo snorted from behind Wufei and leaned back in his seat. "Nobody is asking you do fix anything. I understand it is my fault, OK? I am gonna try to fix it." And with that the conversation was over.

Wufei sped through the traffic of the city until they came to a highly-congested part. The roads were impassible. Cars were parked everywhere. News vans lined the sidewalks and reporters followed by their obedient camera men were scattered throughout hoards of onlookers. Protesters were standing in clusters on opposite sides of the street. Some held signs saying "Keep the Peace" while others read "Freedom Comes for a Price." Wufei threw the car in park in the middle of traffic.

"We have to walk from here." The Chinese boy said coolly. He got out of the car without another word. Heero glanced over his shoulder at Duo, who was staring out of his tinted window at the people lining the streets.

"Duo?" Heero began gathering his things from the foot well. He slung his duffle bag on one arm. Duo said nothing. He looked over his shoulder again at the other boy. Duo's face held a flat expression but his eyes reflected guilt. "Duo… let's go." Heero watched as the American pilot grabbed his things and stepped out of the car as if he was heading for his own execution. He finally got out of the car as well. His heart has picked up in rhythm and was beating frantically in his chest. His fingers had begun to tingle as they had so long ago and his body began to power up for action.

As he got out he took in the scene around him. The sound of a helicopter chopping the air overhead drowned out the yelling of the protesters and the news casting from the reporters. The air was cold and filled with the distinct tension of conflict. Heero shouldered his bag and fell in step behind Wufei and Duo, who were all ready making their way North up the heavily crowded street. Duo looked over his shoulder at him and said something but Heero couldn't hear him over the noise. Finally they came upon a road block manned by people with shields and large prong-like bats that crackled with electrical charge. A large "P" was engraved on the shields and the men holding them were wearing some modified form of Preventor uniform.

_Riot police_… Heero reflected. He watched as Wufei approached one of the men and flashed a badge at him. The man saluted Wufei and pulled the gate aside to let them pass. On the opposite side of the road block were fleets of cars and vans parked in straight lines. Men and women in Preventor uniforms were walking quickly this way and that. Other forms of law enforcement were there as well, though weaponless except for non-lethal devices.

The sight of so many people unarmed and vulnerable made Heero's anger flare in his chest. What was the point of having so many people there if they were so useless?

He scanned the crowd then began to make a mental map of his surroundings. He was surrounded by tall corporate buildings. He must be in the political and business district of the city. United Earth Sphere flags were hanging over doorways of the buildings or from the top of tall, silver masts that stood firmly in the center of the sidewalks. Then, where the street they were walking on ended, there was a tall building looming overhead. It was surrounded by cars which kept at least 100 feet away from its perimeter. Heero began scanning the buildings. Some of the windows were broken out. Barrels of rifles were poking from the broken glass and were currently scanning the crowd. Armed men were standing at the top of a 20 step staircase in front of the main entrance. They wore old Russian army uniforms. The United Earth Sphere flags that had once hung majestically over the doorway of the building were now charred and ripped. They flapped helplessly in the wind. Over the main entrance Heero recognized the Russian Rebel Movement's flag with the hand clutching a lightning bolt painted on sloppily. His eyes searched up the face of the building further. Many spotlights had been brought in to light up the face of the building. The surrounding area was illuminated as though it was the afternoon, though the distant buildings surrounding them were shrouded with the darkness of the night.

Wufei and Duo had stopped beside him to take in the sight of the building. Suddenly Duo gasped. Heero looked over at the American pilot. He was staring, wide-eyed, up at the roof. The Japanese boy turned and followed Duo's gaze.

In the darkness of the rooftop loomed a massive dark figure. Its head was tilted downwards as it watched the scene progress from its perch high above. It took a step forward and crouched alongside the edge of the roof as if to get a better look. Giant, black bat-like wings sprang from its back and stretched out across the night sky to block the pale, yellow light of the moon.

Then two neon green eyes smoldered to life in the darkness.

_There you are…_ Heero narrowed his eyes at the Gundam Deathscythe looming above. _You may look like Deathscythe, but you stand for something else._ _You stand in the way of Peace. I cannot let you exist._

Then he closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath of the night air.

"Mission Accepted."

* * *


	13. Chapter 13: Infiltration

Chapter Thirteen: Infiltration

Heero couldn't believe what he was seeing.

He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms firmly over his chest while staring blankly ahead. A tall, skinny man was standing at a podium that seemed much too small for him. He was holding a small remote that he occasionally made a production of clicking. When he did an elaborate array of special effects would cross the screen behind him to change the slide. He was in the process of presenting the plans for infiltrating the building where the hostages were being kept.

"Now, here are some graphs depicting how plan A and B will rate as far as effectiveness and success. As you can see plan B will be more effective my 30 if all goes according to schedule because the rebels have a 1 out of 20 chance of making it through the back door here-" The man then dramatically clicked the remote and the graph behind him dissolved away. The new slide flew across the screen, traveled around the perimeter of it then settled to the center. But not before spinning counterclockwise.

It was obvious to Heero this man was a moron and that he was more concerned about his presentation than the actual plan itself, which was greatly lacking. Heero glanced to his right. Wufei was watching the presentation with disinterest and seemed to share Heero's opinion. Then he glanced to the left. Duo was inspecting the room and looking everywhere but the slide show.

_This isn't going to work…_ Heero decided. Then, without another thought, he stood up and turned to leave. A few officers behind him straightened in their chairs, more than likely having been startled awake as his sudden departure. The skinny man at the podium paused in mid-sentence as Heero made haste towards the door to the small mobile command trailer's door. He could hear two chairs shuffle. Duo's lopsided step sounded behind him followed by Wufei's distinct, deliberate stomping. Once outside Heero strode a good distance away from the trailer before turning around to regard his fellow Gundam pilots.

"It is obvious we need to start thinking of our own plan." Heero stated matter-of-factly. He pulled forth a thick packet of information and worksheets the man who was presenting had distributed to the officers. He thumbed through it a few pages before ripping out a map of the building. He then threw the rest of the thick packet over his shoulder. It landed on the hood of one of the officer's patrol cars with a loud thud. "And I have an idea. Duo, do you know any of the rebels?"

Duo frowned and began to absently rub the back of his neck. "Not really. I recognized a few of them, but the ones I saw the most… well, they are kinda on trial now." And with that he shot an icy glare at Wufei, who deflected Duo's glare with a cool, calm expression.

"Justice is served…" The Chinese boy replied smoothly. Just when Duo looked as if he was about to strike Heero stepped between them and held the map up between their faces.

"We will need to get this precise for this to work. And in doing so, we need to put aside our differences and work together." Heero said coldly as he glared from one pilot to the other. "Complete devotion to the mission."

Duo relaxed and sighed lightly under his breath. "Yeah. You're right." Then he tilted his face up to glance at the shadowy Deathscythe standing ominously atop the building. Wufei nodded and gave Duo a critical eye.

"They are your enemy." Wufei stated, his dark eyes narrowing on the American boy. "You can show them no mercy." Then the Chinese boy gave Heero a warning look.

Heero got the message.

"Okay…" Heero said quietly. He leaned in close to the other boys. "This is what I think we should do."

"Can you see him?" Duo's voice was hushed and low. He peered through a pair of binoculars directed at the large, heavily guarded building. Their target. Heero shook his head and squinted as he tried to make out the small figures standing at the front entrance. Five armed guards stood directly in front of the door. Each man had a large, greatly modified rifle in hand pointed directly at the line of Peace Officers across from them. The groups were standing off. A man on a megaphone was talking to the rebels. A negotiator.

"What use are the hostages to you, now? Are they necessary to your cause? If you release half of them we will answer one of your demands." The negotiator said in a calm yet pleading voice. One of the rebels shook his head and lifted his own megaphone.

"We want all or nothing." The man replied in a heavy Russian accent. His comrades standing alongside him thrust their weapons in the air and gave a cry of agreement. The negotiator frowned. Many of the Peace Officers and Preventors shifted uneasily in their spots.

"Can we not just sit in a civilized manor and discuss your demands?" The man urged. The rebels shook their heads and raised their weapons menacingly.

"No, you will give us all or nothing. Your words mean nothing to us. We want freedom. We want to be soldiers again. It is what we know. Your pathetic pleas will do nothing. It is action that will resolve this situation- a situation you have caused." The Rebel spokesperson exclaimed through his megaphone. Cheers rang out from the rebels from the broken windows and their posts around the building. The men in the doorway began pumping their fists in the air enthusiastically.

‑­

The negotiator began to reply again through his megaphone with the same monotonous dribble he was instructed to say. Heero frowned and glanced over at Duo. His own emotions were trying to crawl to the surface. He understood what the rebels wanted and could sympathize with their cause.

_This must be what Duo was feeling, _Heero thought. However, he buried these thoughts in the back of his mind. _They are the enemy._ He recalled Wufei's statement to Duo earlier. It was obvious that the Chinese pilot didn't trust Duo. He knew that Wufei was giving him a warning. It was a warning that Duo might turn on them and join the rebels.

Heero wasn't sure if Duo would, but he could easily see how it was possible. That was why he decided that Duo should be with him for the entire mission in the event that Duo decided to turncoat and join them. Or, if the American boy even just hesitated to shoot a rebel he may have recognized and formed some sort of kinship with. A split-second was enough to end a life, and Heero wanted to be certain that the other pilot wouldn't fall victim if he should falter.

A sudden movement stirred within the Peace Officers. Heero spotted the top of Wufei's head moving quickly through the crowd.

"There." Heero pointed Wufei out to Duo, who turned his binoculars to the throng of officers to get a closer look.

"Oh. I see him. He's getting into position. "The braided boy reported. Then he set the binoculars aside and pulled forth a pair of black and green goggles from the inside of his leather jacket. He pulled them over his bangs and settled them on his eyes. Heero fished his own matching goggles out as well and slid them over his face. The world went black for a moment before the inside of the goggles flashed bright green. The world was revealed to Heero in a different spectrum. Light seemed dark and dark seemed light like that of a photo negative. He looked over at Duo. The American boy was smiling at him with a wide-mouthed grin. The image of Duo in the goggles, however, made him appear to be a large-toothed gaping mouthed monster with over-exaggerated features that were as grotesque as that of from a horror movie.

"Ready?" Duo chirped happily. Heero noticed the other boy had his own rifle out and at the ready. He was swaying side to side. His long braid flipped back and forth wildly in anticipation. Like the tail of a cat, it seemed to have a mind of its own.

"Yes." Heero replied as he drew his own heavy assault rifle from its position strapped to his back. Its weight felt good in his hands. His finger ghosted the trigger. Then he shrugged his shoulders. His jacket was heavy with ammo as well as a wide array of hidden weapons.

He peered cautiously over the small garden wall that flanked the perimeter of the building. They had managed to sneak over undetected when a transport truck had driven by. It was luck that got them there. Heero hoped that they hadn't exhausted their luck because many factors of their current mission were based on it. Unlike the mission planner in the trailer there were no alternate plans. No A versus B. They had just one plan.

Suddenly a loud crack ripped through the air which was then followed by a small explosion from behind them. Through the goggles Heero could see a giant, dark gray aura growing just in front of the entrance of the building. To those without goggles it would be a giant cloud of blinding white light. The power to the spotlights and the surrounding city had been cut off. The Russian guards covered their eyes and yelled out commands to each other while the Peace Officers stood in place and began blindly fumbling for their radios to report the occurrence to other squads.

With an effortless leap Heero scaled the short wall and ran across the 100 foot gap between their hiding spot and the only entrance to the building. Duo loped along beside him. The Japanese pilot thought he heard the other boy cackle as they went. Ahead they saw a black figure approach the guards. It was Wufei. With seemingly effortless kicks and punches the Chinese boy had attacked the stunned and sightless guards. Within a few moments the men were disarmed and scattered upon the steep concrete steps leading to the entrance. Heero leapt over one of the motionless bodies and darted into the building with ease.

Inside the building was bright with the goggles but pitch dark to the rebel soldiers who groped around clumsily for flashlights and candles. Having the advantage of the night vision goggles made their work amazingly simple.

Heero approached the unsuspecting men in the darkness and with swift, hard blows knocked them to the ground. He looked over his shoulder. Duo was hovering over an unconscious body with a smug expression on his face. Wufei was by the stairs battling a man with a flashlight. The faint glow from the little handheld flashlight did little to help the poor man who had fallen victim to Wufei's well-honed martial art skills. The rebel's limp body fell to and settled awkwardly on the staircase. Wufei shoved the man out of the way with a booted foot before waving them towards the stairs.

They ascended cautiously. Ahead they could hear men calling back and forth to one another in the darkness. They were aware someone had entered the building and would be willing to shoot. Even with the advantage of night vision they had to be careful. They came to the second floor of the building. Heero poked a head out of the stairwell to look down the hall. Just as he did a beam of light caught his face and a gun began to unload into the air. He jumped back behind the wall and scowled. Duo and Wufei waited behind him with rifles raised. The Japanese boy fished around in his heavy jacket and pulled forth a grenade. He pulled the pin, opened the stairwell door silently and then rolled the grenade down the hall towards the man. He saw Duo raise his hands to his ears out of the corner of his eye.

_3…2…1_

Suddenly a loud BOOM shook the walls. The three pilots fled from the stairwell out into the hall and ran through the smoke towards the first of their objectives. They would search each room for hostages. This floor, however, after much ambushing and shooting, was clear of hostages. They ascended to the next floor and found nothing but rebels and stored weapons. Over and over again they searched the floors. They took out countless rebels in the darkness and found many of the rooms were either empty or filled with unsuspecting rebels but they found not one hostage.

And not a single sign of Trowa and Quatre.

Finally they made it to the top floor. Heero pushed the door to the stairwell open with the toe of his boot . The sound of gunfire rang out from the opposite side. The door shook violently as it was hit riddled with bullets. Then someone from the opposite side fired a shotgun. The spray of bullets slammed into the door and blew it off of its hinges. Heero, Duo and Wufei had pressed themselves against a thick concrete wall beside the door, safely out of the rain of gunfire. A pale yellow, wavering light spilled out into the stairwell.

_The rebels must have found a way to light this floor. It looks like candlelight._ Heero analyzed the situation briefly before tugging the goggles down to rest around his neck. Wufei and Duo did the same.

"We will shoot the hostages if you come any further!" A voice called down the hallway to them. Heero frowned and glanced over at Wufei. The Chinese boy's forehead was furrowed in a thoughtful expression. Duo was staring at the yellow light that poured from the doorway, his expression devoid of any hint of emotion.

Heero began to run ideas through his own mind. He could run out and hope to shoot the officers holding the hostages, but if he missed it would end badly. No… that wouldn't work. A smoke bomb wasn't a likely option either. They had no choice. Wufei finally surfaced from his deep thought and gazed over at Heero.

"I can not think of an alternative." Wufei replied quietly. Just as he did Duo's face lit up.

"Wait… I got an idea." Duo whispered. "They don't know how many of use there are…"

Suddenly Heero's mind began to process fully what Duo's intention was. It was the best they could do. Heero pulled the rifle's long support strap from over his head and set it on the ground. Wufei did the same. Then they pushed the two rifles out into the hallway on the ground.

_I am going to have to kill._ Heero heard a voice say in his head. _I am a soldier now._

"Good. Now, come out slowly with your hands over your head." The voice commanded. Heero placed his hands on top of his messy hair. He gave Duo a sideways glance before walking boldly out into the dimly lit hall. Wufei followed suit.

As Heero left the stairwell and entered the narrow hallway he saw three rebels standing at the far end. Two oil lamps had been lit and were sitting on the ground beside them. One had a gun held to the temple of a woman in a business suit who was staring straight ahead. Her eyes reflected worry but her face was that of a diplomat, cool and collected. The second hostage Heero immediately recognized. It was Trowa standing solemnly with a gun held to his head. His thick brown hair hung over his exceedingly calm face. Heero saw a glint of energy flash in the Heavyarms pilot's eye. The third hostage was a stout, older gentleman with a wrinkled face and weary, blue eyes.

Heero and Wufei stood side by side in the hall facing the rebels and hostages. Their rifles lie a few feet behind them on the ground, armed and ready.

The rebel with the gun to the woman's head looked to his left at the man holding Trowa. They exchanged quick glances before the first man's face broke out into a wicked smile. The gun to the woman's temple lifted and pointed at Wufei.

"Fools." The man hissed. He went to pull the trigger.

"NOW!" Heero barked. He fell backwards into a roll, grabbed his rifle and with super-human speed leapt to his feet and fired. The rebel holding the old man stiffened then fell limp to the floor. Wufei had turned to grab his gun. At the same moment Trowa twisted in his captor's grasp and face-palmed the man in the nose. The rebel holding the woman shot two rounds at Wufei and missed. Duo leapt from his hiding spot in the stairwell, rolled across the floor and let out one shot. The man who shot at Wufei and who was holding the woman fell back and hit the wall. The rebel who had been struck by Trowa pointed his gun at the woman. Wufei fired. The man fell to the ground in a lifeless, headless heap. The woman fell to her knees and quivered in shock. The old gentleman approached her and helped her to her feet and began speaking to her soothingly. Trowa stepped over the spreading pool of blood at his captor's head and approached the Gundam pilots quickly.

"They have the captives on the roof." He said hurriedly. "They plan on forcing them over the edge. We have to hurry." Heero handed the old gentleman a loaded handgun. The older man gave the Japanese pilot and understanding nod and began to usher the frightened woman down the hallway. Then Heero followed Trowa's lead to the staircase that led to the roof.

They climbed the stairs two at a time and with the help of a grenade blew the locked door to the roof off. As they came through the door Heero saw the hostages being herded towards the edge of the roof between the large, pointed feet of the Gundam Deathscythe. The hostages were screaming and pleading with their captors, begging for mercy. The heartless former soldiers held the very same batons that the Peace Officers on the ground below had been using against the riot of protestors and media personnel. Long, thick silver bats with large, blue arches of electricity pulsing at the tip. They were thrusting the prods threateningly at their hostages, forcing them to move along towards the edge. Amongst the crowd Heero spotted Quatre calmly walking with a group of hysterical women, attempting to try to calm them down.

The sight of the hostages being treated like animals began to make Heero's skin crawl. Anger began to burst to life within him. He had felt some sort of sympathy for the rebels but in light of their heartlessness all of his mixed feelings for them evaporated, leaving him feel empty inside.

Trowa, who now had one of Heero's spare guns, ran forward and began picking his way towards the hostages. The tall, muscular boy seemed to float effortlessly through the masses of rebels, knocking them down and shooting them dead as he went. Duo followed suit with a loud battle cry. Wufei followed close behind. Heero stood in the doorway and clutched his rifle tightly in hand. His eyes began to slip in and out of focus in beat with his heavily pounding heart.

_I must destroy the Gundam._ A voice said in his head. He bolted forward and began running towards Deathscythe's foot rather than the group of terrified hostages. As he did so a man approached him with one of the electric prods. He kicked the man who doubled over for an instant before straightening. The prod was thrust at Heero's stomach. The Japanese pilot leapt out of the way and fired a shot at the rebel. The shot struck the man's thigh and sent him tumbling to the ground.

_Too kill this man would be a needless death. He did not intend to kill me._ Heero had begun to run past the fallen man but just as he had the rebel rolled over and stabbed him in the back with the prod.

Heero's body began to convulse as the power surged through his body. Within his ears was a high pitched squealing noise as his senses became overwhelmed with input. He fell forward but managed to catch himself against Deathscythe's massive foot. As he did so the electricity coursing within him transferred through his hands and into the cold Gundanium. He heard a series of gunshots from behind him. Then a groan and a thump as the rebel behind him fell to the ground. Heero fell limp against Deathscythe's massive foot. His heartbeat began to slow. He struggled to breathe. His chest felt like it was caving in. A sharp pain was racing up and down his spine. Every muscle in his body ached.

_What's happening to me…_

Then his legs began to stiffen.

_I can't see…_

His eyes began to cloud over with a thick, gray haze.

_I can't… let this kill me. Not now. Not yet._

His body began to quiver. He closed his eyes and struggled to breathe. His arms and legs started to go numb. The sounds of screaming hostages and gunfire started to sound distant and muffled. The blood coursing through his veins began to slow and his heart became sluggish and beat unevenly.

_I can't die…_

Then everything stopped.


	14. Chapter 14: Boy Versus Gundam

Chapter Fourteen: Boy versus Gundam

"Heero! HEERO?"

The voice that came to him through the blinding, white light seemed so far away. Heero strained to move his arms and legs but found that they were unresponsive and heavy.

"Heero…"

It was Duo's low, smooth voice that spoke to him. The vast plane of pure white shuddered around him and then, from the farthest point in the center of his vision, it began to fade away. The darkness seemed to push forth from beneath the bright light, causing it to dim to a dull gray before darkening completely to transform into a slow-motion picture of the scene on the roof. The hostages were running towards the entrance to the roof. The ground was littered with the bodies of the fallen rebels.

_I'm not dead…_he realized.

Other sensations began to return to him. He could feel the solid, cold Gundanium beneath his torso. Suddenly the object on which he was sprawled began to move.

"RUN! HURRY!"

"OH MY GOD!"

"Hurry! Get to the stairs!"

He could hear yelling and screaming escalate from all around him as the massive chunk of metal he lie so helplessly on began to lift from the ground. The Gundam was taking a step forward towards the fleeing captives.

_I have to stop it…_

He could do nothing as his body slid limp from the foot of the Gundam as it rose. Weightlessness came. He fell for what felt like forever before he hit the ground suddenly on his back.

Then his heart began to throb violently in his chest and he began gasping for air. His lungs ached from the sudden over-inflation.

He was lying on the ground staring up at the darkened, star-filled sky above him. The massive, looming figure of Deathsycthe standing over him eclipsed much of the sky. The foot he had fallen from now hovered dangerously close overhead. He could see the mobile suit's weight shifting. The foot was taking its position over him.

Then instantly his body regained movement. However, this time there was an increased sensation coursing through every nerve ending of his being. Every fiber was charged with a static energy that prickled with a sharpened sensitivity and, as the massive foot came down on him, he rolled out of the way at a super-human speed, leapt to his feet and began to run towards the opposite foot.

Behind him he could hear the sounds of people calling out to each other as they retreated to the stairs to evacuate the roof. The Gundam stomped a heavy foot. The entire platform beneath his feet shook violently but this didn't affect the Japanese boy's precise footsteps as he ran.

The world seemed to be going in slow motion. Or maybe he was just moving faster than the world.

Deathsycthe's other foot began to lift and as it did Heero leapt up onto it and began to climb. His hands seemed to stick to the Gundanium like magnets as he scaled its massive shin and grabbed the edge of the jointed knee. The face of the Gundam turned and its camera-eyed gaze locked onto him. A hand came down to knock him off. He found one of the maintenance doors, kicked it to make it swing ajar, and then hooked the toe of his boot into the small rectangular indention. When the hand came down to strike at him he leapt into the air and landed on the back of the attacking hand. The arm swung up to shake him off. He gripped onto it tightly. Every time the arm paused to switch directions he would climb a couple of feet up towards the shoulder. Then opposite hand rose to slap him off.

_If I get a running start I can get to the hatch…_ his mind began to calculate the distance and how much effort it would take to close the wide gap he would have to clear. Every thought he had concocted came to him in a split second. It was as if he was supercharged and over-clocked. His mind was running multiple thoughts per second.

His dark blue gaze locked onto the hatch set square in the lower center of the mobile suit's massive chest. The release button was on the right top corner of the hatch. The rebels had built the Gundam exactly how Duo's had once been. There seemed to be little modification done. Heero was very familiar with Duo's mobile suit, seeing as the American's was modeled after his own, and from the time he had stolen some parts off of his comrade's Gundam. They were practically identical in engineering.

The opposite hand began to come down on him as if in slow motion. Just as it was about to squish him he rolled backwards on the lifted arm he was perched upon and ran along its surface. His boots thudded heavily against the smooth, wide Gundanium panels. He jumped to the attacking arm, skidded across its wrist and leapt towards the chest of the suit. His hand hooked on the top edge of the hatch and held tightly as he dangled in front of the hatch door. Then with a wild swing he punched the release button on the hatch.

The seal on the hatch hissed as it was broken and the door began to displace from its snug fit against Deathscythe's chest. Then with a loud groan it began to open. Inside an older man with various scars on his face stared at Heero in shock with mouth gaping through a thick, heavy black beard.

The corner of Heero's mouth perked into a satisfied smirk at the sight of the man's surprise and with lightning speed he planted his fist into the man's nose. The man doubled over a little and in doing so landed on the suit's control panel. The action had activated the suit's self-detonation control.

_Weeeooooh. Weeeooooh. Weeeoooh._

"Fuck."

Heero grabbed the shocked man's shoulder and wrestled him out of the support straps in the seat and, with an easy fling sent the man falling to the ground below. Then he slid into the seat and began trying to override the self-detonation program.

Weeeooooh. Weeeoooh. Weeeeooooh.

Nothing he did seemed to work. Every path he tried to use to get around the program was either incomplete or securely protected.

_I have to take it away from here._

He began powering up the thrusters and closed the hatch. The screens came to life around him. The self-detonation warning message flashed red on each screen. In one of the cameras he could see a figure running towards the base of the Gundam. He zoomed in the camera to see Duo approaching with an anxious look in his eyes. The wind being stirred up from the engines made his braid flip around wildly behind him. His mouth was moving and his eyebrows were drawn together high on his forehead. With a flick of a finger Heero turned on the external microphone.

"Heero! HEERO! Why are you trying to kill yourself?!"

"I'm not. The other pilot began the self-detonation sequence. I can't crack it. Tell me the password, Duo, so I can deactivate it."

It would work, after all. The data was all from Deathsycthe Hell. Duo should know the password. However, rather than telling Heero Duo frowned. His face began to grow pink.

"Hurry!" Heero urged through the speakers at him. Duo shook his head and began running towards the Gundam.

"Let me do it!" Duo yelled as he approached.

_Detonation in 15 seconds and counting… 15… 14… 13…_

"There is no time! Just tell me what it is!" Heero yelled in frustration. He frantically began trying any sort of word or phrase that Duo may have used. Things like "Shinigami", "God of Death" and "Meet your Maker" but none of these options worked.

_12… 11… 10… 9…_

"Heero bend down here so I can put it in myself!" Duo practically screamed from below. Heero growled in anger and slammed a fist down on the controls.

_8… 7… 6… 5…_

"DUO! JUST TELL ME!"

_4… 3…_

"It's…"

_2…_

"I LOVE HEERO YUY!"

_1…_

Heero's fingers tapped with extreme speed across the keyboard before he pounded the enter key down with a quivering hand. The alarm died down and the red, flashing lights around the cockpit faded away. It took him a long moment to realize what he had just typed.

_I love Heero Yuy?_

He felt strange. He stared through the screens which now glowed crystal clear blue and white. With a faint press of a button the down-camera sprang to life and revealed Duo standing at the foot of the Gundam. The other boy's posture was awkward and he seemed very uncomfortable.

_He loves me…_

Heero's mind began to race with various thoughts.

_But this password was set during the war…_

Memories of missions with Duo began to rise into his mind's eye. It all made sense now. How Duo would watch Heero as he worked. Heero just thought the American was being a pest or trying to study his actions for ideas of his own… but now he understood what that strange look in Duo's eyes was. It was love. And not the same sort of love that Relena had for him. No, Duo's eyes were reflective of respect, camaraderie and devotion unlike Relena who just seemed to have a sick fascination with him. There was so much evidence now in hindsight that Heero was beginning to feel foolish for having never noticed it before. Duo always supported Heero in his decisions, no matter how reckless or strange they were. Whenever other pilots fell back to protect themselves Duo was right there with him, eager to help.

Then there was Duo's recent and sudden open affection for Heero. At first he thought Duo was just consenting to having sex with him out of raw need. He didn't think it involved any sort of feelings. However, it was clear now. The Japanese boy just needed to be alerted to it.

_How could I have been so stupid? _Heero thought bitterly to himself as he stared into the screen displaying Duo at the foot of the suit.

_I love Heero Yuy._ The sound of Duo's voice screaming it out into the air had pierced him to the core. The words had traveled into his heart and had struck a chord that now reverberated through Heero's mind.

Heero always tried to act on his emotions. And this moment was no exception. He was growing weary of trying to analyze his feelings and thoughts. This time he would just act.

With a flick of a switch the hatch hissed open. He slid out of the seat and grabbed the descent line and hooked his wrist through it. With a leap he took to the air and slid down to the ground on the descent line to land on the ground beside Duo. The American pilot's posture was crooked and his face was unreadable.

"Hey, um… so, about the password, I just want to tell you that I didn't mean to-" The braided boy began in a hesitant, hushed voice.

Heero took a step forward. Duo flinched and braced himself for a blow. This made Heero's eyes glimmer with amusement. He roughly grabbed the braided pilot by the shoulders and yanked him close so that their faces were a few centimeters apart.

"I love you too, idiot." Heero replied quietly, and then sealed the words with his first true, passionate kiss.


	15. Chapter 15: The Final Epilogue

Chapter Fifteen: The Final (Epilogue)

_Many Months later…_

Heero stared at himself in the small, round mirror over the sink.

_Another year older. Another year wiser._ He mused as he studied the strange person looking back at him in the reflection. He knew it to be himself, but he was amazed at how different he looked.

He had aged. The wear of the war had finally caught up with him. However it didn't make him seem unattractive just rugged and exotic. His eyes were cool and as blue as ever but his face was more mature. His pointed chin seemed stronger and his jaw line pulled taut with defined muscle. His messy brown bangs now bore a shock of white hair that appeared shortly after the incident on the rooftop in Brussels.

He lifted a hand to brush the new addition out of his face. It slid to the side easily but then sprung back to its usual space right between his eyes. It served as a constant reminder of that day and ever since then his life had never been the same.

The whole ordeal had been caught on video by a news helicopter. Everything from the blackout during infiltration to Heero climbing up the Gundam with his bare hands. Even Duo and Heero's impassioned kiss had been captured and all of the footage was released to the media and publicized everywhere. It was strange to him. Overnight he and Duo had become celebrities. Stories about the "Former Gundam Pilots" were everywhere and their relationship became the center of the tabloids for a few months. It was only now, the beginning of the New Year, that Heero begun to feel some peace. Their story had lost steam when Heero made certain nobody could find them. A short trip with Duo to the Caribbean to stay out of the limelight for a while had not only given them a chance to be alone but also let the steam about their lives dissipate. The tabloids moved on to other topics, namely poor Quatre and Trowa, who always were the center of attention when nothing else was tantalizing enough to report about.

Heero pulled out his toothbrush and began to vigorously brush his teeth. His eyes were still locked on the shock of white hair on his head. The white hair also symbolized his will to live, his support from the other pilots and his amazing luck that day in Brussels. When the rebel had shocked him it had sent a large pulse of electricity through his body. In doing so it temporarily overloaded his spinal addition. However, once the static released in his spine it became functional again. Even more than functional. The power had been stored in his spinal addition and provided him with a temporary boost that had allowed him to perform those amazing feats he had become so well known for.

Heero spat in the sink and then looked up at himself again. He wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

_I am fortunate._ He reflected solemnly. He let his hand reach over his shoulder to touch the deep crevice along the top of his spine between his shoulder blades. The spinal addition had saved them all. Because it had worked so well Heero had Quatre help him create a fund to support the technology behind it so that others could receive this miracle of modern medicine just as he had.

"Heero? You aren't ready YET? We have to hurry or we are gonna be late!" Duo scolded from the bedroom. Heero turned to see the American boy appearing in the doorway. The other young man wore a traditional Japanese male-style kimono of red and black lined with silver cording and adornments. The sight of Duo traditional costume Heero smile.

"What are you grinning about?" Duo said with a scowl. Then he looked the Japanese pilot up and down before placing a hand on his forehead in a dramatic gesture. "Heero! You're naked! Hurry up and get dressed! Jeez. We're going to be late for the party and if I am not blissfully drunk by the time the New Year rolls in I am not going to be a happy camper…" Then he turned and quickly scampered into the bedroom, his long braid trailing behind him.

Heero sighed happily and walked, naked, into the bedroom behind Duo. The American boy was arranging Heero's blue and gold kimono on the foot of the bed. It was nice to be annoying Duo for a change…

He got dressed and began putting the finishing touches of the final piece of his outfit. The braided boy had begun fussing over his hair.

"You need a haircut…" Duo muttered as he tugged at Heero's head. "Badly…" Then he went to spit in his own hand but before he could expectorate into his palm Heero's hand snapped up and clamped over his mouth. Duo's eyes widened in surprise.

"No spitting in my hair…" Heero snarled as he gave the other boy a warning glare. Duo rolled his eyes and sighed in defeat. Heero's hardened features softened a little as he released his hold on the American's face.

"Then let's go!" Duo urged. He grabbed Heero's wrist and began dragging him towards the door.

"Wait… wait…" Heero grumbled under his breath. He dug his slippered feet into the floorboards and pulled the American to a stop. Then he wrenched his wrist from the other boy's grasp and quickly went to the hidden compartment in the wall and opened it. He took out a small handgun and tucked it neatly within his robe. Duo huffed loudly from the front door in protest.

"Better safe than sorry." Heero said softly as he gave Duo an apologetic look. The American boy shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest.

"How is that going to look, Heero? We support Relena and her total Pacifism and you're still packin' heat?" The American boy scolded as he gave Heero a critical look.

The Wing pilot smiled and approached Duo with wide, even steps. He stepped close to his lover and placed his hands gently on the other boy's hips. Duo's eyes widened in surprise.

"Duo…" Heero's voice was like a deep purr. His right hand slid up Duo's slightly muscled side. He let a thumb brush against the hidden nipple beneath the heavy, woven silk. The American boy shuddered and his cheeks began to flush. "My Duo…" Then Heero let his other than slide down towards the American's groin. Duo moaned softly as his fingertips slowly traveled downward. Then Heero's hand paused. With a quick grasp and a series of precise movements Heero had dug into Duo's kimono and retrieved an object from beneath a flap of smooth fabric. His wrist twisted and the object spun in his hand. Suddenly Duo was staring down the barrel of his own gun.

"You can't lecture me on self-defense." Then Heero threw his head back and laughed.

Duo glared angrily at Heero from the opposite side of the gun. "Fuck you then!"

This made Heero laugh even harder. The American boy snatched the gun away from the laughing pilot and tucked it safely beneath his own kimono.

"Come on, then." Duo grumbled. "Let's get to the party before they drink all the sake."

The January weather in Hokkaido was that of any northern province. It was cold and the snow had settled into large, powdery mounds on every open surface. The bare trees sagged heavy with ice and snow and the small pond had frozen over. It was dark when they left the house. They walked through the woods down the beaten path, which Heero had shoveled the snow from earlier that day, and made their way towards the New Years festival that was to be held in the center of the village by the frozen pond. As they neared the festival they could hear the laughter and general hubbub of a party. The voices floated through the chilly air and seemed to bring warmth to the frozen world around them. When they came upon the clearing they saw a tent had been erected in the open field. Lanterns of various colors hung from poles leading to the brightly lit tent. Shadows of people inside the tent shifted around in the pale light.

As they approached the tent Heero glanced over at Duo. The American boy wore a happy, excited smile. The tip of his nose was red from the cold and occasionally a small puff of warm air would escape his full, smiling lips. The sight of Duo so happy made Heero happy. That was all that mattered anymore, and he couldn't help but smile, too.

Right before they reached the tent Duo fell back a few steps and before bouncing up behind Heero. He planted his hands over the Japanese boy's eyes.

"Duo, what are you-"

"It's a surprise!" Duo exclaimed. Heero scowled and began stepping cautiously forward, blinded by the American boy's fingers.

"What are you talking about?" Heero grumbled. He felt the tent flaps pull back around him. He took two steps forward. "Duo?"

It was quiet. The people who were talking and laughing had grown silent as they entered. It made Heero feel uncomfortable. Just as he was about to wrestle the braided boy's hands from his face they fell away on their own. He opened his eyes.

"SURPRISE!" "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Heero was thoroughly taken aback for once in his life.

Inside the tent stood everyone from the village.

Yuki, who had seen Heero's bravery on television and was now a good friend, stood with Kirin dressed in traditional kimono. Beside them was Quatre, smiling, in a pale blue kimono. Trowa stood at Quatre's side in a matching dark green kimono and was holding the blonde's hand tightly. Wufei was with them as well. The Chinese boy was garbed in a fancy white Chinese-style robe and wore a satisfied smirk on his face rather than his usual serious scowl. Relena was there too, with a long white and pink kimono. She held a dark brown teddy bear in her hand with a large blue bow on it. Various other members of the town were present as well. All of the children who played by the lake were there, too. Each holding a small gift for him.

Behind the crowd of smiling faces was a three-tiered cake with "Happy Birthday Heero" scrawled across the front in dark blue icing.

Heero stared at them with a slack-jawed expression.

"Happy Birthday!" Duo said from behind him.

Heero didn't know what to do. Nobody had ever thrown him a birthday party before. It took him a moment to gather his thoughts. Everyone was watching him quietly, waiting for him to respond.

"I don't know what to say…" Heero admitted.

"Just a 'thank you' would suffice." Relena said sweetly. She walked up to Heero and handed him the chubby, brown teddy bear. "Happy Birthday, Heero." Then she kissed his cheek softly before retreating away from him with a smile. Quatre, Trowa and Wufei approached him as well.

"Happy Birthday!" Quatre exclaimed brightly before handing Heero a small package. "This is from Trowa and I. You can open it later."

Heero glanced at Trowa. "It's a bomb." Trowa said in his usual low, monotonous voice. His face showed no hint of humor.

Heero couldn't help but chuckle at Trowa's attempt at a joke. It made him relax.

"Thank you. You really didn't have to come all this way just for me." Heero said softly as he looked at his friends. Wufei cleared his throat loudly.

"Yuy. That is what friends to for one another." The Chinese boy stated matter-of-factly. Quatre nodded in agreement.

"Yes. Friendship is the one sure thing we can always give to one another." The blond replied. Trowa inclined his head in agreement.

"Your friendship is enough gift in return." Trowa said. "We know you would do the same for us."

Heero sighed and nodded. He glanced over at Duo who stood close to his shoulder with an arm draped through his own. The world was as it should be, even if it were only for a short time. There was peace. His friends were safe. He had found someone to share his life with.

_I would do the same for any one of them._

This time he knew he would.

The End.


End file.
